Hamilton Must Hope That Leclerc Has 'Similar Driving Style' Says Schumacher

Sunday, 05 January 2025 at 16:12

Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher explained why, in his opinion, Lewis Hamilton needs to hope that Charles Leclerc has a similar driving style.

Although it is winter break, and the seven-time world champion has probably not spent much time with his team yet, Lewis Hamilton already officially became a Ferrari driver on January 1, 2025.

The British driver said it was his dream to drive for the Italian F1 team. His goal is to achieve his eighth Drivers' Championship title and bring glory back to Maranello, where the team has not won a title since 2008.

However, it will not be that easy, according to former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher, who is concerned that Lewis Hamilton might have trouble adapting to the car he will be given. Schumacher told German Sport1:

"[Vasseur] won't really be able to help him [Hamilton] just as Toto [Wolff] couldn't this year."

"Neither of them is responsible for the design of the car. In conclusion, Lewis has to adapt to the driving characteristics of the car and not the other way around."

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"Today, the cars are heavier and slower to drive. There is less mechanical grip. That means that you have to change your driving style, especially in the braking zones."

"And that is exactly where Lewis lost time to Russell. It was particularly evident in qualifying that Lewis often no longer knew exactly how to brake. That is why he often had problems hitting the apex."

"He was used to braking extremely late, but that was no longer possible with the Mercedes."

The 39-year-old indeed struggled in 2024, directly compared to his teammate George Russell. Hamilton lost the qualifying head-to-head battle with Russell 6-24. The former F1 driver continued:

"I fear [Hamilton] will lose a few tenths in qualifying against his new teammate Charles Leclerc."

In Grand Prix races, the two were more evenly matched, and Hamilton actually looked faster on many occasions. However, starting from further back often didn't help, and he lost the race head-to-head 10-20.

Schumacher suggested Hamilton could be saved if Charles Leclerc had a similar driving style as the Monegasque has been one of the main people guiding the development trajectory of the new Ferrari car.