Charles Leclerc ‘surprised’ by ‘very interesting’ thing he’s noticed with Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari

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Charles Leclerc has opened up on the ‘qualities’ that he has tried to learn from Lewis Hamilton, compared to what he got from Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz at Ferrari.

The Monegasque welcomed the Briton to Maranello before the 2025 F1 season after Ferrari convinced the seven-time champion to quit Mercedes one year ago. Hamilton signed a two-year, £39m-a-season contract with Ferrari in February 2024, which holds an option for 2027.

Maranello chiefs moved early to tie down their line-up for 2025 and 2026, having also given Leclerc a new contract through 2029 in January 2024. The 27-year-old joined the Scuderia in 2019 when he partnered with Vettel, whom Sainz then replaced for the 2021 F1 season.

Charles Leclerc has been ‘surprised’ by the ‘organisation’ around Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari

Vettel offered Leclerc a fountain of knowledge to tap into, as the latter joined Ferrari for just his second year on the grid. The former had already started 219 Grands Prix including 139 at Red Bull, for whom he also won the F1 drivers’ championship in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside F1 from net worth to family

Leclerc is now trying to learn as much as he can from Hamilton, who joined Ferrari with 356 Grand Prix starts, 105 wins and seven titles to his name before racing in red. Hamilton even boasts an F1 record 104 pole positions, but the 40-year-old’s speed did not surprise Leclerc.

Instead, what has taken Leclerc’s attention since Hamilton joined Ferrari is the ‘organisation’ around the Stevenage-born star. The Monegasque always expected to see the Briton’s pace with the Scuderia, given what he had achieved during his 18 previous seasons on the grid.

“I learned a lot from them,” Leclerc told Sky Italia. “We’ve all been doing this sport since we were kids, and we’ve grown up in different ways, with our own strengths and weaknesses.

“As a driver, my job is to look across the garage and try to take on all [of] the qualities of the teammate I’m competing against.

“Seb was impressive in terms of his feel for the car and his attention to detail. In the first meetings at Ferrari, I arrived with little guidance at the start, while he had a 1,000 points to contend with. And that also helped me grow a lot.

“With Carlos, he was quite impressive. Even on weekends when he was struggling the most, he managed to extract the most points possible.

“And then there’s Lewis, the most successful driver of all time. There’s a lot to learn from him. I expected a lot from him, but it wasn’t his speed that surprised me. I mean, I already knew that. But it’s the organisation around him that’s very interesting.”

Lewis Hamilton is embracing a chance to emerge as Ferrari’s team leader

Hamilton very much walked into Leclerc’s home by joining Ferrari, with the latter a Scuderia star since he joined the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2016. Yet Hamilton has fully embraced his chance to emerge as potentially Ferrari’s new team leader ahead of the 2026 F1 regulations.

Having won six drivers’ titles with Mercedes, who also won eight constructors’ titles through his time in Brackley, Hamilton has sent documents to Ferrari’s staff citing improvements that he wants to see compared to the Silver Arrows. Ferrari have not won either title since 2008.

It seems like Hamilton could learn from Leclerc, too, as the Briton continues to adapt to his new life as a Ferrari driver. The Scuderia debuted their rear suspension upgrade at Spa, but Hamilton needed two days to understand Ferrari’s update while Leclerc got it immediately.