Leclerc Reportedly Welcomes Hamilton's Arrival To Ferrari About Which He Knew In Advance

Sunday, 04 February 2024 at 10:00

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc walking together through the paddock at one of the F1 circuits, with Red Bull hospitality and the FIA office in the background.

Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc apparently knew about Lewis Hamilton's new contract before the official announcement and is "very happy" about the change.

As the whole World knows by now, the seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton will be switching teams for the first time in 12 years after the end of the 2024 season.

Going to Ferrari is a huge step toward the unknown for the 39-year-old, but he suggested he was looking for a new challenge, and driving for the red was his childhood dream.

This is great news for all the Formula fans as well as the owners of the sport because this great move is bound to spark interest even from people who haven't watched F1 in a long time.

One person who might not be super excited about Hamilton's move is Charles Leclerc. When signing his new long-term deal, it was considered that he would be the one to lead Scuderia.

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The general notion was that Maranello really liked the Monegasque driver and he would become the number one driver at Ferrari. However, the Briton's arrival might change everything.

The effort that Ferrari put into convincing Hamilton to switch teams tells us just how much the team values the seven-time World Champion. Report from formu1a.uno suggests his salary will be in the ballpark of $100 million per year.

That is more than two times as much as Leclerc's new contract pays him. The 39-year-old's arrival might complicate many things for the current Ferrari driver, but apparently, he knew about the change ahead and welcomed it. Formu1a.uno wrote:

"Lewis Hamilton’s arrival is welcomed by Charles Leclerc, who already knew discussions were ongoing."

"We heard that the Monegasque is very happy. He sees this arrival in Maranello as an important and exciting challenge to face. Leclerc interprets this move positively rather than as something negative or limiting towards him."

It is clear a big challenge awaits the 26-year-old following the upcoming season. On the other hand, he beat a four-time World Champion (Sebastian Vettel) in the past, and now he will get his chance to show how he compares to the seven-time World Champion.