Charles Leclerc shades Lewis Hamilton early on as Ferrari's preparations for the 2025 F1 season

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc got the better of his new teammate Lewis Hamilton on the second day of the Pirelli tire test in Barcelona as he prepares for the upcoming 2025 season. There is a lot of excitement for the new pairing in the sport, given that two of the most iconic names in F1 are joining hands for the first time.

However, Leclerc who has been the golden boy of the Italian team ever since his first year in 2019, has been overshadowed this pre-season by Hamilton's arrival. Many have even picked the British driver to get the better of his Monegasque teammate in the 2025 season.

But Leclerc, on the second day of the Pirelli tire test in Barcelona, showed his quality by dominating Hamilton on track. Both drivers completed 74 laps each of the Circuit de Catalunya with the latter clocking in a best time of 1:16.759. The former's best time was almost two seconds faster, as he clocked in a lap of 1:14.971.

Lewis Hamilton had shaded Charles Leclerc on the opening day by going a couple of tenths faster. But Leclerc's margin on Wednesday, February 5 marked a strong bounce back. However, Pirelli head Mario Isola believed that the timings were "irrelevant" given that each driver had been given different setups and testing programs.

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F1 pundit commented on Lewis Hamilton's crash in testing in Barcelona

F1 pundit Peter Windsor shared his belief that Lewis Hamilton's crash at the TPC in the SF-23 should delight the Brit's fans despite the shunt.

On his YouTube channel, Windsor spoke about the crash and claimed that the 40-year-old was feeling great in the team and pushing the limits, saying:

“My take is that it was actually a very, very good test for Lewis and I think all Lewis Hamilton fans can feel delighted at the way that test went. Yes, there was the shunt – but let’s look at the buildup to that shunt and the reasons for it. Nothing to do with a bump on the road or any of that stuff, it was all tied to how good Lewis felt in the car and how he’s feeling within the team.

“He feels great in the team and that car, the 2023 Ferrari, which was not the greatest of Grand Prix cars built by Ferrari. But in that car, Lewis Hamilton felt better than he’s felt certainly over the last couple of years in Formula 1 in the Mercedes, probably going back to the beginning of 2022."

The former Mercedes driver has signed a multi-year contract with Ferrari that will see him race for the Prancing Horse until the end of the 2026 season with an option to extend for another year if both parties are satisfied with their partnership.