Latest news with #Leclerc
News18
a day ago
- Automotive
- News18
'A Weekend To Forget But...': Lewis Hamilton Leaves Spa-Francorchamps On High
Last Updated: Lewis Hamilton finished seventh at Belgian Grand Prix after starting from pit lane and praised team's strategy and pit stop execution. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has said that although the Belgian Grand Prix weekend was one to forget, he would take a lot of positives from the Ferrari on Sunday, July 27, when he finished a creditable seventh after starting way below in the race. Four drivers began from the pit lane, Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso, Kimi Antonelli and Hamilton, having made changes to their power units or set-up overnight. They started at the rear of the field ahead of the rolling start at the start of lap 5 but that was a big strategic call that bore fruit. Alex Albon clung on to finish sixth for Williams ahead of chasing Hamilton of Ferrari, who began from the pit lane and Racing Bulls' rookie Liam Lawson. 'Today's race was a positive step forward. The strategy and pit stop were executed perfectly and the overnight changes we made to the setup allowed me to get the most out of the car," Hamilton said while speaking to Formula One's website. 'I felt much more comfortable behind the wheel and I'm pleased with how everything came together," Hamilton added. On lap 12, Hamilton was the first in for medium slick tyres, rejoining 18th, followed by Oscar Piastri, Leclerc, Max Verstappen, Andre Russell and more. Lando Norris stayed out one lap longer for hards, hoping to profit if his rival's rubber degraded in the closing laps. The only pit stop, executed in just 2.2 seconds, was one of the fastest of the day. By lap 15, everyone else had switched to mediums and it was Piastri on top ahead of Norris by 9.3 with Leclerc third, leading Verstappen, Russell, Albon and in flying form, Hamilton. Piastri went on to win the race, with Norris second and Leclerc third. World champion Verstappen finished fourth. view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
Lewis Hamilton experience at Ferrari would have made F1 champion 'go ballistic'
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur is under pressure from Italian media to improve the team's fortunes with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc not in contention for wins A former Formula 1 champion has said he would "go ballistic" if he was a Ferrari driver amid the team's current "chaotic energy". The Italians are the most famous outfit in the sport but have not won a title since 2008 – and won't end that drought this year with McLaren dominating. It means Lewis Hamilton, 40, is running out of time to win an eighth F1 title which he desperately wants to do as a Ferrari driver. And team-mate Charles Leclerc also seems to be growing frustrated having spent years spearheading the charge of an under-performing team. The Italian media has been critical of team principal Frederic Vasseur of late and suggesting he could be replaced soon unless he can inspire an improvement in their fortunes on track. And speculation has only intensified since Christian Horner became available. Ferrari have courted Horner before and, now that he has been axed by Red Bull, they may have a better chance of tempting the Brit to make the move to Maranello. In the eyes of Jacques Villeneuve, he may be better equipped to deal with the constant scrutiny than any Ferrari boss always faces. "Christian Horner to Ferrari would be an interesting one," the 1997 F1 champion said. "He's been solid, doesn't seem to have been very affected by pressure, even in tough times. So, he might well be one that could be able to shoulder Ferrari." Villeneuve was also highly critical of the current situation at Ferrari and made it clear that he would have spoken up about it long ago if he were in Hamilton or Leclerc's shoes. The Canadian said: "The team principal at Ferrari is always under threat – that's the name of the game. READ MORE: Max Verstappen loses key ally for Belgian Grand Prix as Red Bull confirm replacement "When you accept going to Ferrari, you know that you're walking on fire, you're walking on eggs. It's always a risky proposition. And if you take the job, which puts you in the limelight, you have to accept the consequences, which means it's easy to just be chopped. "You live under constant pressure, and you have to accept it from the media, from everyone and you complain about it because a team principal there is always one who managed to remove his predecessor. There's always a lot of politics. So, if it happens to Vasseur there should not be any surprise. The last few races probably protected him a bit. "But the wind changes so quickly at Ferrari. And it looks like Lewis is getting the hang of it, and is starting to figure out the car. And that's putting Leclerc in a very bad spot. And you can hear it in his comments on the radio that it's a very stressful situation for Leclerc as well. "That is all the chaotic energy inside the team which is not helpful. All that is just chaotic energy inside the thing that is not easy. Then there's the way the engineers communicate with the driver, you can hear it over the radio. It's as if they're a different team. There is no chemistry. "It's the same with Lewis which is understandable maybe because he's new to the team. But there's zero chemistry, zero communications, nothing constructive when you listen to the races. In the last few races when I was listening to some of the exchanges, I thought, 'Wow, how would I have reacted if I'd been the driver?' "With this kind of communication, I would have gone ballistic. Something needs to be done to clean up the Ferrari house a bit."
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
Charles Leclerc puts Lewis Hamilton on notice with warning if Ferrari plan works
Lewis Hamilton is working to drag Ferrari to the front of the grid where he and team-mate Charles Leclerc would both relish a Formula 1 title battle if they get the chance Charles Leclerc has warned team-mate Lewis Hamilton that he will become a "target" if they successfully drag Ferrari back into title contention. That is the aim of both drivers who want to become World champion while driving for the famous Italian team. But Ferrari are in the midst of a lengthy title drought. Kimi Raikkonen was the last driver to win the championship in 2007 and several other big names such as Fernando Alonso and four-time title winner Sebastian Vettel have tried and failed to summit the Formula 1 mountain with the team. Hamilton said he "refuses" to become the latest megastar to try and fail to do so. And, ahead of this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix, the Brit spoke of the extra effort he is putting in behind the scenes to help the team to create a car capable of challenging for silverware in 2026. "I held a lot of meetings. I've called lots of meetings with the heads of the team, so I've sat with [chairman] John [Elkann], [chief executive] Benedetto [Vigna], [team principal] Fred [Vasseur]," he said. "And several meetings I've sat with the head of our car development, with Loic [Serra], with also the heads of different departments, talking about the engine for next year, suspension for next year – things that you want, issues that I have with this car. "I've sent documents through the year. After the first few races, I did a full document for the team. Then, during this break, I had another two documents that I sent in. So, then I come in and want to address those. Some of it is structural adjustments that we need to make as a team in order to get better in all the areas that we want to improve, and then the other one was really about the current issues that I have with this year's car." If Hamilton's input helps to drag Ferrari back to the very front of the grid, then team-mate Leclerc will surely be pleased. The Monegasque has raced with the team since 2019 and, although he finished second in the 2022 championship and has won eight races in his F1 career, he has yet to be even in a real fight for title glory. The relationship between Leclerc and Hamilton has been cordial up to now with both drivers aware that improving the team is far more important to their ambitions than beating each other to minor finishing positions. But the 27-year-old has warned that will change if they do manage to drag themselves into a title fight. Leclerc said: "To be honest, when you are fighting for fourth, fifth, sixth, it's not really something that interests me that much. Then, of course, when we start to fight for wins, then you look at those things a lot closer. "But it's not really been part of my... I was just here to try and learn as much as possible from Lewis of what I could learn, what could benefit me as a driver, and then focus on myself with the target of doing the best possible job, which means beating Lewis, but not only. "I think the main target of the team and my main target at the moment is to bring Ferrari back to the top. And, yeah, Lewis is not my target at the moment because we're not fighting for very interesting positions."
The Star
4 days ago
- Automotive
- The Star
Lewis Hamilton opening up Ferrari to 'interesting' ideas, says Charles Leclerc
With his wealth of experience in Formula One, Lewis Hamilton is a cut above the rest of the drivers in the paddock. At 40 years old, Hamilton is now producing movies and helping Ferrari better design their cars. And he is doing it in style. The seven-time world champion made the headline move to Ferrari at the end of last season, as Mercedes' domination came to an end after the FIA introduced the ground effect changes. Hamilton is chasing an eighth world title and moved to Ferrari with the intention of seizing it in a red Prancing Horse. While the first half of this season could not be described as successful when looking from the outside, fellow driver Charles Leclerc suggested that Hamilton has opened Ferrari up to a world of knowledge they never knew. Winning seven titles does not come without a deep understanding of the machines he drove and thus Hamilton possesses a skill very few drivers on the paddock have - an ability to provide meaningful feedback that can allow engineers to make the necessary adjustments. It's Hamilton's first time driving a Ferrari, whereas Leclerc has been in the Ferrari since 2019, but still, he thinks Hamilton's got some interesting ideas. 'It's been very interesting to see the areas where we [Ferrari] were working completely differently, compared to a team like Mercedes, which had huge success in the past. 'And to compare this way of working. I'm sure that this will help us to take steps forward in the future. There's already been very interesting feedback from Lewis, because for me [the feeling in the car], it's the normality. It opens your mind to different working techniques. 'It hasn't gone as well as what I expected or wanted this season, that's for sure. But we are working hard to try and turn the situation around,' Leclerc told the Times. Ferrari have made changes this season to the SF-25, but still Leclerc has outpaced his teammate at almost every race. Hamilton indicated that he's working on some modifications to the chassis together with technical director Loic Serra to hopefully iron out the kinks. Earlier this season, ahead of the British GP, Hamilton said he's slowly migrated to a way of driving similar to Leclerc and found that his pace quickened. "This year with this car, we have lots of different tools and ways in which we can set the car up. Charles has been here for a long time, and he's been a part of evolving and developing this car, and he's very accustomed to it. "He's found one way in which the car works. I've tried all the other directions that should work but they just don't for whatever reasons. And I've slowly migrated to the place where Charles does run the car, and last week our pace was the closest it's been,' Hamilton said.
Daily Mirror
14-07-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
Lewis Hamilton banned from Charles Leclerc 'friendship' as rumours shut down
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have forged a relationship as team-mates at Ferrari, but it doesn't look likely they'll be considered "best friends" anytime soon The arrival of a seven-time world champion to any Formula 1 team is bound to stir the pot. And that's exactly what's happened at Ferrari since Lewis Hamilton joined forces with Charles Leclerc. However, team principal Frederic Vasseur isn't too fussed about his drivers becoming fast friends, either. In fact, it appears the Frenchman would prefer to see a bit of venom between his two drivers. And the time may be coming where the relationship between Hamilton and Leclerc is tested amid suggestions Ferrari will model their 2026 car around the former. Not that Ferrari's chief will be losing any sleep over the prospect of more tensions. "They are getting along very well, super focused and motivated, with great mutual understanding," Vasseur previously shared with Belgian outlet RTBF (via the Daily Express). "But there has to be competition. "I don't want them to be best friends. Nor enemies, but above all, they must be rivals. It must stay that way; they should always push to outperform each other and be driven by that. In any case, their mindset is healthy and positive." Leclerc has been the face of Ferrari since 2020 but might find himself in a bit of a tussle amid suggestions Hamilton, 40, will soon take more precedence. It's the sort of move that could ruffle feathers, but Vasseur, who is the subject of rumours about his own future at Ferrari, seems quite content with some edge between comrades. Seven-time world champion Hamilton has shown nothing but warmth and respect towards his team-mate since joining Ferrari. The British driver has been full of praise for Leclerc's quality and work ethic, airing his admiration of the Monegasque early on. "Charles is massively talented," said Hamilton said during testing at the Bahrain International Circuit earlier this year. "Getting to see him work opposite the table and watching him in the garage, it's been really, really great. "Obviously he's been here for a long time, so he knows the team well, he speaks Italian, he's at home and at ease. But because we already had a friendship before, that's made it a lot easier to just get straight into working together." Hamilton described Leclerc as "incredibly talented" and expressed his eagerness to learn from his younger team-mate. However, their camaraderie could be tested if Leclerc feels somewhat sidelined at Maranello. Former F1 star Jacques Villeneuve suggested Hamilton's sprint win at the Chinese Grand Prix earlier this season might have sparked jealousy in Leclerc. This could escalate if Hamilton becomes the lead driver for their 2026 car, although Leclerc has so far responded maturely to the situation. Brushing off concerns about development roles, the driver made his priorities clear at Silverstone earlier in July. And that remains the good of the team over any individual glory. "I don't think that's the problem, and I just want the fastest car possible next year," said Leclerc when quizzed about Hamilton potentially taking the lead on the new build. "That's exactly what Lewis wants, and then wherever we are next year, I'll set up the car in a way that I like, and Lewis will do just the same."
