Ahead of the F1 Australian GP in Melbourne next month, Ferrari F1 boss Fred Vasseur has opened up on the combination of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
The news sent everyone into a frenzy last year; 7-time-world champion Lewis Hamilton would join the Scuderia in 2025.
Excitement, curiosity, and anticipation were three of the most circled feelings for everyone that follows the travelling circus amid the news release.
Now that the season opener is only a few short weeks away, Formula 1 on-lookers are getting curious on how this iconic driver and team pairing is going to work.
Adored by the Tifosi, Charles Leclerc will be officially teammates with Lewis Hamilton, the most successful driver in the history of F1.
A lot of people have questions on how this dynamic is going to work, and how the team will work around these challenges.
Fred Vasseur spoke out against the doubts, confirming he believes his chosen duo will be strong both on and off the track.
Why Lewis Hamilton was paired with Charles Leclerc
“He’s the perfect fit with the team today. That’s exactly what I was looking for, for the team, for me, for Charles, I think it’s the perfect combination,” said Vasseur on Wednesday.
His confidence is set in stone ahead of testing and the season opener in Australia; Vasseur believes that his Ferrari F1 duo of Hamilton and Leclerc has experience, determination, and a taste of seasoned success will be a sure way back to the top.
“And a good way to improve is to [observe] the experience and the performance of your teammate, because it’s the driver who is the closest to you. You have access to the deltas that you can work with and if you are clever that you can do a step with the potential of your team mate.
“I’m fully, fully sure I’m right because we already did two TPCs [testing of past cars] and a shakedown today [and saw] that it will be the case. And honestly, I’m not scared at all with this because we need to have this kind of evolution,” he continued.
Now with the first test of the SF-25 under their belts, feedback is there to be used ahead of official testing in Bahrain.
A strong performance on the horizon for Ferrari?
Vasseur spoke about the feedback the team received as as well from the 105-time race winner, keeping tight lipped on areas that need attention before cars hit the track and get racing.
Hamilton was able to give positive feedback, helping the team to enhance the car’s performance and place the team in a promising position.
“It’s not a matter of changing the car completely. If we are able to bring a small bit of performance on one or two topics, it’s already a huge step forward.
“And Lewis is coming with his own experience, with his own background. And it will help the team for sure to develop on every single area. For sure, we’ll do a quick comparison between the two engines, between the two chassis, how we operate on track.”
It seems as though that there are no clear doubts for the teammates paired, the cars performance, or how they will go about the season ahead.
“And us as a team, we have to avoid to be shy and try to understand where we can improve. And this is my job and the job of the technicians.”
