Jock Clear’s vision of Ferrari, Hamilton, and Leclerc
In the words of Jock Clear, who spent a decade in Maranello and previously worked in Mercedes, there is a very deep portrait of what makes drivers great and how, within a complex team like Ferrari, raw talent must evolve into leadership and the ability to guide the entire team’s direction. In this sense, the strongest parts of his appearance on Peter Windsor’s podcast focus on Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, described not only as fast drivers but as figures expected to make a real impact inside a huge, demanding, and often exhausting structure like Ferrari.
Hamilton, anything but selfish: “He is a great team player, he reminds me of Michael”
One of the topics Clear addressed most firmly concerns the public image of Lewis Hamilton. The British engineer strongly rejected the idea of a driver focused only on himself, arguing instead that one of the secrets behind the Briton’s success is precisely his ability to build a team around him.
“It hurts to read comments from people who think Lewis is arrogant or that he is not a team player, as if everything revolves around him. It could not be further from the truth,” Clear explained.
According to him, Lewis Hamilton belongs to a very rare category of champions who truly understand what Formula 1 is as a collective sport. “Lewis is fantastic as a team player,” he said.
This is not a minor detail. For Clear, this is one of the traits shared by the greatest drivers in history, drawing a strong parallel with Michael Schumacher, with whom he worked during the German driver’s return to Mercedes.
“He knew how to treat people. You wanted to work for him, you wanted him to win, you wanted to be on his side,” he explained.
This is where the connection with Lewis Hamilton is made: not just speed, but the ability to extract maximum performance from the entire system around him.
For Clear, it is no coincidence that both seven-time world champions share this quality. “The skills that lead to success in Formula 1 are also these, because this must be a team sport.”
Charles Leclerc like Max Verstappen, but now comes the next step
If the focus on Lewis Hamilton is strongly human and relational, the discussion on Charles Leclerc starts from pure driving ability. Clear describes him as a naturally gifted driver with exceptional sensitivity behind the wheel.
“He is a very instinctive driver, with a tremendous feel for the car. Right now, he is the only one who, in my opinion, can match Max Verstappen in terms of raw pace.”
However, because Leclerc’s talent is not in question, Clear shifts the focus to the next stage of his development. To become a true title contender, being fast and aggressive in battles is not enough: he must become the full leader of the project.
“What he needs to continue working on is taking the team by the hand towards the championship,” he explained.
This is a crucial point, as it moves the focus from the cockpit to the entire Ferrari ecosystem. According to Clear, driving the car at maximum pace is almost the easy part for Leclerc.
“Getting into the car and driving at the limit comes naturally to him. Everything else is what he is learning.”
And that “everything else” includes pressure management, leadership, absorbing criticism, and keeping the team united even when Ferrari is not winning.
After all, Ferrari is not just any team. It is an amplified, emotional, highly exposed environment where a driver must be not only fast but also a stabilising force.
For this reason, Leclerc’s growth is seen as an ongoing process, already well underway. “I think he is learning very well. I believe he will be the driver who takes Ferrari to the next level. And the next level must be the championship.”
Clear also highlights a more delicate human aspect, recalling difficult moments in Leclerc’s life, including the loss of his father and his close friend Jules Bianchi.
He urges people to look at drivers with empathy rather than treating them as performance machines.
“It does not matter how much money you earn: you are still vulnerable to the same things that affect all of us.”
For Clear, forgetting this human dimension leads to a distorted view of Formula 1, which remains a deeply human sport despite its technological intensity.
Ferrari between Leclerc and Hamilton: a pairing that can raise the level
When asked what separates a good driver from a champion in terms of feedback, Clear provided an answer that also fits Ferrari’s current situation.
According to him, the best drivers are not necessarily the most technically detailed, but those who can quickly identify priorities.
“Great drivers understand what the most important things are to fix at that moment,” he said.
Among his examples is once again Hamilton: “He does five laps, comes in, and tells you exactly what needs to be fixed to go faster. And he is rarely wrong.”
This is extremely valuable in Formula 1, where hundreds of people work on the same car and the true elite driver is also the one who can provide clear direction to the team’s efforts.
From this perspective, Jock Clear’s reflection also highlights the enormous potential of Ferrari’s current pairing. On one side is Charles Leclerc, the natural talent learning to become a leader. On the other is Lewis Hamilton, the complete champion bringing experience, structure, and strength to team dynamics.
Together, this combination could become a major asset. Charles Leclerc is pushed by a top-level teammate, while Lewis Hamilton finds in Ferrari an environment that, after the initial adaptation phase, may now allow him to express his qualities more fully.
The deeper meaning of Jock Clear’s words is clear: in Formula 1, a strong car and the right upgrades are not enough. You need individuals capable of holding the group together, providing direction, and carrying the weight of expectations.
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