"I totally understand how he feels": When Lewis Hamilton sympathized with F1 rival Charles Leclerc after a heartbreaking moment

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton once sympathized with Charles Leclerc after the latter had a heartbreaking moment during the qualifying session of the 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Monegasque driver had taken everyone by surprise with his performances throughout the 2019 season which was his first with the Italian team.

Leclerc, who is currently Hamilton's teammate, joined the Prancing Horses in 2019 after just one year with Sauber and displayed his raw speed in his first few races alongside then-teammate and four-time F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel. In qualifying, the Ferrari Academy driver had established himself as the driver to beat with the most pole positions during the year.

Charles Leclerc also had to deal with several heartbreaks in his first year with the iconic team. One of these happened in the Q2 in Baku when he crashed in the castle section of the track despite looking unstoppable through the weekend. He was livid with himself for the mistake and termed himself "stupid".

As per Sky Sports, then-Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton said that he understood Charles Leclerc's frustrations, stating:

"I'd be the same. That's how we're tuned as racing drivers when it's your mistake. We're tough on ourselves. It's painful. There's a lot of pressure around a track like this on his young shoulders, so it's totally normal.

"Years and years ago I didn't come out of my room for two or three days when I had some experience like that so I totally understand how he feels. It's cool that he's open about it because that means he can get it out and look forward to tomorrow," he added.

Charles Leclerc recovered in the main race and finished P5 with an additional point for the fastest lap.

Charles Leclerc chimes in on the challenge of having Lewis Hamilton as his teammate

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc stated that having Lewis Hamilton as his teammate in the same environment would probably be one of the biggest challenges of his racing career thus far.

As per Yardbarker, the 27-year-old reflected on having the seven-time F1 world champion and said:

"It’s definitely a huge challenge and probably one of the biggest of my career. He’s the most successful driver in Formula 1 and to have him as my teammate is a really, really big motivation for me to learn from him but also to show what I’m capable of. I feel ready, but I guess only time will tell. Whenever I’ll find myself in that situation, we’ll see but, I feel ready."

Leclerc and Hamilton will race alongside each other for the next two years with the possibility of a third year if the British driver extends his contract with Ferrari for a further season.