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As the Lewis Hamilton-Ferrarin fanfare reaches fever pitch, there's a second driver in the name of Charles Leclerc who would be watching from the shadows, focusing on what could be his first sustained title challenge in his career. The Hamilton buzz is magnetic, and there's no other way to describe how warm the Tifosi's welcome has been for the 7x championship winner.
With that being said, all of this is but off-track stuff, and if you've followed the sport long enough, you've seen Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso welcomed to the squad with similar fanfare and warmth.
At the end of the day, it comes down to what happens on the track, and that's the biggest battleground, one where Charles Leclerc should be prepared for what is going to be the toughest season of his career.
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Ferrari has not splurged on Lewis Hamilton for him not to win
It's clear that with the kind of media hype and coverage that Lewis Hamilton's first day has gotten, Ferrari has not splurged the money for him to just play the supporting role.
If at the start of the 2025 F1 season, John Elkann has a choice on who would be his first pick to win the title, it's going to be Lewis Hamilton. The kind of prestige, marketing money, and payoff that comes with the Brit winning his 8th title in the red overalls is unimaginable.
Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc has been the chosen one since 2020 and has spearheaded this team quite impressively so far. However, even in the worst-case scenario, Ferrari would be making sure that Hamilton has everything he needs in the team to be comfortable and to make his transition as smooth as possible.
Lewis Hamilton's magnetism is already evident
The 2025 F1 season has officially begun for Ferrari, and it could not be more evident who has been the focus of the conversation. From the media to the team's social media, everything has been about Lewis Hamilton. The driver has met everyone on the team, and all the key senior members have made it a point to come by and wish him good luck.
There are already discussions about Hamilton's first post garnering more social media interactions than Charles Leclerc's win at Monza last season. Lewis has this magnetic personality that attracts everyone, and we can already see the kind of effect it has on the team, as everyone would be making an effort to help the F1 legend add another feather to his cap.
The 7x world champion would use every trick in the book to get one over Charles Leclerc
Arguably the most important thing in all of this is the fact that Lewis Hamilton is a competitor through and through, and there's no way in the world he would not be trying to beat his teammate and become an Alpha within Ferrari.
If there is one weakness that Charles Leclerc has sometimes shown in the sport, it is his inability to get on top of intra-team rivalries. There's a fine line between teammates where the team's final results should not get compromised for individual goals. This line was crossed quite a few times by Carlos Sainz during his Ferrari partnership, and Leclerc was seemingly unable to play that game against the Spaniard.
Lewis Hamilton is 40 years of age now, and if there is someone who could play this game to perfection, it's him. He's been with teammates such as Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button, and Nico Rosberg, all of whom were champions in their rights but also had the knack of building a team around them.
Hamilton has seen it all, and if that aspect is where he feels Leclerc is lagging behind, he'll try and take full advantage of it. For Charles Leclerc, he must know that having a team working for you and supporting you completely is going to be of utmost benefit.
Hence, the Monegasque has to make sure that a scenario where Ferrari becomes a 'Lewis Hamilton team' doesn't happen.
Most importantly, Charles Leclerc cannot afford to lose
Charles Leclerc cannot afford to lose to Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari. Sure, he would be losing to a 7x world champion, who would go down as one of the greatest in F1. But at the moment Hamilton's stock is at an all-time low. The Brit is coming to Ferrari at the age of 40 after getting outperformed by George Russell in 2 out of 3 seasons at Mercedes.
Leclerc is expected to beat Hamilton at the team and if he's unable to, the young Monegasque driver's stock takes a hit and it would be a blot on the kind of F1 legacy he would be trying to build.
Conclusion
While the Leclerc-Hamilton partnership has been cordial for now, the duo has not hit the track yet. There's a possibility that Ferrari will contend for the championship in 2025, and both drivers would be hungry to win.
For Leclerc, however, this is arguably his toughest test yet as he goes up against a talent of the century who would not give him an inch or accept any kind of defeat at any point of the season.
The battle for supremacy within Ferrari is going to be intense, and it's going to be the one where Leclerc could be in for a rude shock if he accepts anything less than a ruthless Lewis Hamilton who's trying to make the team his own and win his 8th world title.
