Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are preparing for an unprecedented internal battle at Ferrari, with qualifying potentially becoming the decisive factor in their fight. According to many experts, the Monegasque has an edge in pure Saturday speed, an aspect that could determine the favored driver in Maranello’s race strategies.
Since 2022, with the introduction of ground-effect cars, Charles Leclerc has proven to be one of the fastest drivers in qualifying, securing 18 pole positions and 6 victories. In the same period, Hamilton, despite his impressive record, has claimed only one pole and two wins.
Martin Brundle even stated that Charles Leclerc is the fastest driver in qualifying, ahead of Max Verstappen: “I believe Charles is, over a single lap, the fastest driver currently on the grid.”
Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton struggling over one lap?
On the other side of the Ferrari garage, Hamilton arrives after two challenging seasons with Mercedes, during which he struggled in qualifying. The seven-time world champion was clearly outperformed by George Russell in 2023, losing their Saturday head-to-head battle 5-19. After being eliminated in Q1 in Qatar, Hamilton himself admitted his struggles:
“I’m just slow, the same story every weekend. I don’t know what to say… Am I not fast anymore?”
Ferrari has historically favored the driver best positioned on the grid when making race strategy calls. This means that the fastest driver on Saturday will also have an advantage on Sunday, and in this regard, Charles Leclerc holds an important card. In 2024, the Monegasque beat Carlos Sainz in qualifying with a 14-9 record, once again demonstrating his ability to maximize the car’s potential over a single lap.
Who will be Ferrari’s leader?
While Charles Leclerc appears to have the edge in qualifying, Hamilton is a master of comebacks. In 2024, he gained a total of 68 positions over 16 races, losing ground in only four events. This highlights his ability to recover from poor grid positions, but starting behind his teammate could impact his title chances.
Charles Leclerc has not spoken much about his new teammate, sticking to standard diplomatic remarks. However, behind the scenes, he knows this is the most important challenge of his career. Beating the Briton would cement his status as Ferrari’s number one driver and, most importantly, strengthen his claim to the world championship.
The answer will come soon—the first round of this highly anticipated battle will take place during their debut weekend as teammates in the Australian GP at the Albert Park circuit.
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