Formula 1 News: Ferrari not 'scared' Hamilton may be washed up

(GMM) Lewis Hamilton is heading into official pre-season testing this week with a pace deficit compared to his teammate Charles Leclerc.

That is the claim of Marca (Spain) and La Repubblica (Italy) newspapers, claiming that in early testing of the 2025 car, Leclerc was eight tenths quicker than the seven time world champion at the Fiorano track.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari. Pirelli 2026 Tire Test Barcelona February 4, 2025. Photo supplied by Pirelli

The reports claim unofficial stopwatches recorded Leclerc’s best lap of 56.06 seconds – the second-fastest time ever recorded at the Ferrari-owned facility, just behind Michael Schumacher’s best time way back in 2004.

Ferrari’s new technical boss Loic Serra, however – who like Hamilton has just arrived at Maranello from Mercedes – insists he is not worried about the 40-year-old’s early form.

“It does not scare me,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“Lewis is an extraordinary driver who is always hungry for new challenges,” the French engineer added. “I am sure that at Ferrari he will be as fast as in his best years at the top of Formula 1.”

Hamilton is quite open about the fact that he is still acclimatizing to his new cockpit, having only ever piloted Mercedes-powered cars in his long F1 career.

“Everything is different,” said the Briton. “And it’s not often that any car suits you straight away. But I don’t think I’ll need to change my driving style.

“My style is quite similar to Charles’ and I’m already comfortable and gradually adapting.”

As for Leclerc, it must be a strange feeling for the 27-year-old Monegasque to be arguably the quicker Ferrari driver for the start of 2025 but very much in the shadow of his ultra-famous new teammate.

“There is always a lot of attention around Ferrari,” he told L’Equipe, “but it’s true that with Lewis’ arrival, it’s even more enormous. But it’s understandable – we’re talking about a legend of our sport.

“It hasn’t changed my approach. Yes, Lewis’ arrival makes things a bit crazy and pushes the media to follow us more than usual, but I have prepared as I always have, trying to improve each and every winter.”