Former FIA president Jean Todt believes Lewis Hamilton's new team-mate Charles Leclerc has extra motivation following the arrival of the seven-time champion at Ferrari. Hamilton has linked up with the Italian squad for the 2025 campaign following a difficult spell at Mercedes. The 40-year-old was largely out-paced by George Russell throughout their final season together, their third in partnership. Hamilton will establish a new team-mate relationship with Leclerc - but as is always the case in F1, every driver will attempt to come out on top against their partner in equal machinery. Todt sees Leclerc using the situation of being paired with the most successful driver in F1 history to better himself in a similar way to Russell. “I don’t think [Leclerc] will be affected by Hamilton,” Todt told La Repubblica . “For Charles, it could be an opportunity to be even more motivated, much like what happened with George Russell at Mercedes.”

Ferrari missing 'very little' to win F1 title

Ferrari enters the upcoming campaign hoping to enjoy another positive year, this time with title success. The Italian outfit narrowly missed out on a constructors' championship last year to McLaren but is hopeful the stable regulations will allow it to compete at the front from the opening round. Todt, who was part of Ferrari's legendary set-up with Michael Schumacher in the early 2000s, sees the team in a position to take another title back to Maranello. “What is Ferrari missing to win? Little, very little. Even in the past, they came very close,” he said. “Even the line-up with Leclerc and Carlos Sainz was a good pairing; they certainly didn’t lose because of the drivers. “Obviously, even with Hamilton, the line-up remains top-level. “Will it be better than the previous one? I have no idea, we’ll have to see the level of the car.”

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