Lewis Hamilton says it would be “unfair” to apply unreasonable expectations on Charles Leclerc, as the Monegasque youngster prepares to step up to Ferrari.
Leclerc has joined Ferrari after an impressive rookie campaign with Sauber and will partner Sebastian Vettel, who was beaten by Hamilton in world title fights in 2017 and 2018.
Hamilton, though, has cautioned that Leclerc must be given time to grow within Ferrari’s environment, pointing to Vettel’s results and experience.
“I think it would be unfair to put that kind of expectation on his shoulders,” said Hamilton on the notion of Leclerc beating Vettel.
“It’s only his second year. He’s young, he’s going to make mistakes.
“He’s obviously very quick, very talented, and most likely he is going to surprise many, many people.
“But you’re talking about a veteran out there now who’s a four-time World Champion.
“There’s no substitute for experience, so it will be interesting to see how those two parallels work together.
“Sebastian is a multi-World Champion, and Charles has a lot of experience to go through.
“The great thing with a youngster is that you’re energised beyond belief and determined, and you have more energy than the elders do, so as I say it’ll be interesting to watch.
“I’ve been in that same position that they’re in, at McLaren, so you’ve seen it in one realm, it’ll be interested to see it in that one.”
Hamilton has also backed team-mate Valtteri Bottas to bounce back strongly after a disappointing 2018 campaign, in which the Finn placed a win-less fifth in the standings.
“I’m not someone that generally has expectations of anything, but I would assume that he’s going to try and be more aggressive this year,” he said.
“I’m sure he’s going to be pushing harder, I’m sure he’s pushing harder on his training. He’s always been incredibly determined since the day he got here, and that’s not wavered.
“I’m sure he knows where he’s got to put his focuses to, working with his guys on the other side.
“I see the top of his head beyond the screen, so I don’t really know about his difference in approach, but I’ll see that once we get into the racing this season.”
