“When I’m putting the helmet on, then there’s none of this any more” : Charles Leclerc on showing mercy to new teammate Lewis Hamilton next season
Lewis Hamilton made a surprising decision to move to Ferrari at the end of the current F1 season. This decision comes after spending almost a decade at Mercedes, where Lewis Hamilton clinched six of his seven world championship titles.
Lewis Hamilton will now team up with one of the most promising drivers on the grid, Charles Leclerc. The Monaco based driver admitted that he was a huge admirer of the Briton while growing up, and it will be a terrific opportunity to race alongside him.
He looks forward to learning from his teammate Lewis Hamilton. Moreover, he stated that it would also help him become more competitive by racing alongside the seven-time F1 champion. It will test Leclerc’s mettle and force Hamilton to demonstrate how much he’s got left in the tank.
“It’s going to be incredible to have Lewis on the team,” Lecerc told The Gentleman’s Journal.
“And, obviously, to be able to have such an incredible champion in the same team as me, with the same car. First, it’s going to be a great opportunity to learn from one of the best ever.”
“And second, I think it is going to be an amazing opportunity, also, for me to be able to show what I’m capable of, so I’m really looking forward to it. By being on karting tracks every weekend growing up, it was difficult for me to actually follow a Formula 1 season, so I used to watch some races and he was definitely one of the guys that I looked up to,” said Leclerc.
Charles Leclerc comments on driving alongside Lewis Hamilton next season
Charles Leclerc was asked if he would show some mercy to Lewis Hamilton next season, given that it would be first season at Ferrari. The Monaco based driver clearly stated that he would treat him as a competitor, and he will not be influenced by his admiration for the seven-time F1 champion.
“No, of course not. No, no, no – when I’m putting the helmet on, then there’s none of this any more,” said Leclerc.
“You change, you don’t think about who is who and you just go for it. Now I’m racing Lewis, so I’ve got to forget a little bit the names that are inside the paddock, and just focus on my own performance whenever I’m on track,” he added.
Lewis Hamilton has been in terrific form over the past couple of weeks leading up to the summer break. The Mercedes driver claimed the race win on his home turf in Silverstone in July. He also won the Belgian GP, after his teammate George Russell was disqualified due to breaching car weight rules.
