Charles Leclerc on Lewis Hamilton takeover: "Ferrari is bigger than one driver"

As Ferrari prepares for the 2025 Formula 1 season with its star-studded driver lineup, Charles Leclerc has dismissed speculation that Lewis Hamilton will be prioritised.

As Formula 1 prepares for its season-opening Australian Grand Prix, all eyes will be focused on Ferrari and their new driver lineup. Lewis Hamilton joins Charles Leclerc at the Scuderia, but amid speculation about a potential internal rivalry, Leclerc has addressed the idea that the seven-time world champion may receive priority this season.

The partnership between Leclerc and Hamilton is one of the most formidable on the grid, but it is the latter that has certainly taken the spotlight since his move to the Scuderia. His arrival has generated unprecedented interest in Ferrari, with the company's share price alone soaring by more than 10% when the news of his move was confirmed in 2024.

2025 has also been promising for the team, with pre-season testing looking positive for both drivers as they adapted to the new SF-25.

Speaking ahead of the Australian Grand Prix to the media, including Motorsport.com, Leclerc directly addressed the speculation about any potential hierarchy within the team:

"There's no place for one particular driver in Ferrari. I mean, Ferrari is bigger than any drivers and I think that's always been the case in Ferrari," he said.

"That's what makes Ferrari so special. There's support for the team and not for one specific driver. So I don't think that's the case. Obviously, Lewis is coming in the team as a legend of the sport. And so there's a lot more attention on him than there is for me at the moment. But that's... I'm completely fine with it."

He continued: "I completely understand that, and, um, it's normal that it's that way, so it's fine for me, but I don't think there's a competition on who needs to be the driver for Ferrari, and there won't ever be that."

Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

Photo by: Ferrari

The Monegasque's comments mirror Ferrari team chief Fred Vasseur's approach to managing his drivers. The Frenchman has already dismissed concerns of potential friction between his two drivers, instead viewing the duo as an opportunity for competition that will only elevate his team.

“Well, it’s always an opportunity and one of the skills of the driver is to try to always improve,” he said from Fiorano when they tested this year's car for the first time. “A good way to improve is also to take the experience or the performance of your team-mate, because it’s the driver that is the closest to you and you can have access to the data that you can work with. If you are clever, you can do a step with the potential of your team-mate.

“I’m fully, fully sure, because we already did two TPC [Testing of Previous Cars] and the shakedown today, that it will be the case.

“Honestly, I’m not scared at all with this, because we need to have this kind of emulation.

“I spoke about it last year between Charles and Carlos. It was already the case, but as a team, if we want to perform, we need to have two drivers performing.

“We need to have two drivers in a kind of competition, a positive competition and a positive emulation. And I’m sure that it will be the case.”