Charles Leclerc addresses striking Lewis Hamilton mindset change

Charles Leclerc has addressed the mindset change in Lewis Hamilton ahead of this weekend's season-opening Australian Grand Prix, insisting the Briton is no different — just "super excited".

For much of his debut season with Ferrari last year, Hamilton often cut a dejected and negative figure, frequently putting himself down after difficult grands prix.

However, since the introduction of the new power unit regulations, the seven-time world champion has been upbeat, incredibly positive and driven heading into the 2026 season.

During Ferrari's abysmal 2025 campaign, Hamilton and Leclerc both spent considerable time working on the Scuderia's package for this year in an attempt to make a strong start to the new rules era.

Despite Hamilton entering his 20th year in F1, Ferrari remains a very new environment for him — something Leclerc has greater experience of — which is part of the reason he views the 41-year-old no differently.

Asked for his feelings entering the season and whether he has noticed a shift in Hamilton, Leclerc told select media including RacingNews365: "Yeah, I'm quite neutral going into this season. I've had quite a few years with the team now, and I know what it's like. Driving for Ferrari is very, very special, but that also comes with a lot of noise and sometimes expectations that don't really reflect the real picture.

"So I don't really have any expectations for now. I just go day by day. I try to do the best possible job, and I hope that means that on Sunday we're here celebrating the first win of the season. But if not, we'll take it from there and try to work on that.

"Whether I see Lewis in a different place? I don't. I think he's just super excited. He was super excited to join the team last year, and he's super excited for these new cars to arrive, just like I am. 

"So there's a lot of excitement, really, to start this first race on the right foot — and a lot of work behind the scenes from both of us and the whole team to try to arrive as ready as possible for this season."

Leclerc outlines 'unknown scenarios'

Ferrari enters the new season with optimism following a positive pre-season, which saw its race runs impress the paddock.

A strong result in Melbourne is a realistic target for both Leclerc and Hamilton; however, the Monegasque is wary of how many unknowns remain heading into the first race under the new regulations.

Leclerc added: "But it's going to be an interesting race because, over the years, with the cars we've had before — which were a little bit more traditional — every time we had a change of regulations, we kind of tested every scenario before getting to the first race.

"With these kinds of cars, there are still quite a few unknown scenarios, like safety car restarts and things you can't really reproduce, that might give us a few surprises. So I'm looking forward to that."