Charles Leclerc believes "it is too early" to judge Lewis Hamilton on his Ferrari performances despite his poor start to life at the Scuderia.
After his bombshell move from Mercedes for 2025, expectations were high that Hamilton could even launch a world championship bid, but at the summer break, he has yet to record a grand prix podium finish, with the nadir coming in Hungary.
After qualifying 12th, Hamilton claimed he was "useless" and that Ferrari needed to sign "another driver" after Leclerc took pole position ahead of the fancied McLaren drivers. He would finish a lapped 12th in the race, but did confirm he would not walk away and would be at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Leclerc leads Hamilton 10-4 across grand prix qualifying sessions in 2025, with an average position of 5.1 to 8.4 and leads the 104-time pole sitter by an average of 0.241s, using their outright fastest qualifying laps.
In races, Leclerc leads 11-2 in races, both have been classified finishers for an average position of 5.0 to Hamilton's 6.5.
However, despite his domination over his team-mate, Leclerc is not rushing to any judgment about Hamilton's adjustment to Ferrari, especially after 12 seasons with Mercedes.
"I didn't have much expectation because I didn't know," Leclerc told media, including RacingNews365, when asked if he expected to be ahead of Hamilton.
"As a driver, you watch the data of other drivers, but there’s always the question mark: when you're off in one corner, how much is it coming from the driver and how much from the car?
"I was very curious to see where I would be against Lewis. Again, it's still very early on, and we're also not fighting for wins and pole positions, which changes things for a driver.
"For now, my only focus is to try and bring Ferrari back to the top. I'm happy with the way I'm performing, and I just need to keep going that way.
"It's probably too early to judge, as it's a new team for Lewis, and I'm sure he's still understanding and learning about all the different systems, the new systems for him."
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes and Nick Golding, as they look ahead to F1's return from the summer break at the Dutch Grand Prix. The wet weather risk for both McLaren drivers at Zandvoort is discussed, as is how Lewis Hamilton will approach media day.
Rather watch the podcast? Then click here!
Most read
In this article
Join the conversation!