Lewis Hamilton given cause for concern ahead of Ferrari battle with Charles Leclerc

Lewis Hamilton will end a 12-year partnership with Mercedes when he joins Ferrari for the 2025 season.

Charles Leclerc is in a strong position within the Ferrari team (Image: Getty)

Former F1 driver Anthony Davidson believes that Charles Leclerc will beat Lewis Hamilton in the qualifying battle at Ferrari in 2025. The two titans of F1 will become team-mates in 12 months after the legendary Brit made the surprise decision to leave Mercedes for the Italian constructor in early February.

The inspiration for Hamilton’s move to the Prancing Horse is rooted firmly in his desire to return to World Championship contention, but while Ferrari may be a more compelling contender than Mercedes, it is not a given that he will get the better of his talented team-mate.

While Leclerc has just five Grand Prix victories to his name, the Monegasque driver has developed a reputation for being a brutal threat in qualifying, collecting 23 pole positions. While his conversion rate is poor, without a string of Ferrari strategy blunders he would likely have a much higher win tally to show for his efforts.

Offering his thoughts on Leclerc’s pace during the pre-season testing broadcast, Davidson said: “He’ll just carry on doing what he does, driving super quick. I think he’ll learn from Lewis. I think he could be faster than Lewis in qualifying in his own team.

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“He speaks the language, he’s well integrated into that team. We all know how quick Charles is. I’d even go as far as to say that Charles is now the fastest driver over one lap. Sometimes he gets it wrong, he goes too far. He likes setting up the car super pointy, he’s admitted that himself and sometimes goes too far but I love watching him drive.”

Leclerc is looking to stamp his authority on the Ferrari team in 2024 ahead of Hamilton’s arrival. The 26-year-old has largely gotten the better of team-mate Carlos Sainz during their time together, although it was the Spaniard who claimed the Scuderia’s only Grand Prix victory last year.

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“No, it’s not enough [to finish on the podium],” he explained when addressing his targets for the upcoming campaign. “I mean, I want to win as many races as possible, then we’ll do the counter at the end of the year, and to also understand where we will be after the first race to understand how competitive we are.

“But yeah, it’s very difficult now to also draw a picture of where we will stand after the first race, it will depend on that as well. But two or three victories is not my target, I want to win as many races as possible.”