Lewis Hamilton has pointed to McLaren’s and Red Bull’s strong pace during pre-season testing that could present a challenge as he bids for a record eighth Formula 1 Drivers’ title.
Hamilton has already made his intentions at Ferrari clear, to end the Scuderia’s protracted title drought that on the Constructors’ side draws back to 2008 and in the Drivers’ a year more.
The seven-time champion is committed to his new team so much so that he’s placing greater emphasis on clinching Ferrari a title than success taking him to a record-breaking eighth.
This week’s three-day test at the Bahrain International Circuit allowed Hamilton to gauge Ferrari’s potential and that of the team’s rivals.
A day after going second fastest in Thursday’s running, where reigning Constructors’ champion McLaren showcased some impressive long-run pace, Hamilton addressed his rivals’ form.
“Obviously it’s a lot hotter today but McLaren did a great job yesterday,” Hamilton told select media including Motorsport Week on Friday.
“I think also Max [Verstappen] did a decent run today.
“It’s hard to know what fuel loads everyone is running. “We’re all doing our own programmes, so we have to take everything with a pinch of salt.
“[McLaren] being the Constructors’ champions last year, we expect them to be one of the quickest, if not the quickest.
“As with Red Bull, who have dominated for many, many years.
“So, for us, we’re just trying to improve. I haven’t done the [race simulation] run yet, I’m about to do it this afternoon, and it will give a bit of a better understanding of how this car behaves in a race stint.
“It’s going to be my first race stint with the team. I’ve only done short [runs], about 10 laps, so it’ll be interesting. We’ve definitely got some work to do to improve.”
Hamilton’s long-run stint on the C3 compound tyre wasn’t as fast as the likes of Mercedes, McLaren or his team-mate Charles Leclerc in Friday and his race simulation was cut short due to a technical anomaly.
However, on short runs Hamilton grew in confidence throughout the three-day test so he and Ferrari have the ingredients to improve in order to challenge at the front.
Assessing the intra-team threat
Before Hamilton can worry about beating the likes of McLaren, Red Bull and his former employer Mercedes, he has to do what every F1 driver’s first port of call is: beating his team-mate.
Leclerc is a formidable opponent on the other side of the Ferrari garage, one who is truly embedded in the heart of the Scuderia since his 2019 debut with the team and academy days prior.
2024 was one of Leclerc’s most impressive campaigns, where he was able to showcase impeccable race management through his three GP victories at Monaco, Monza and The Circuit of the Americas.
His qualifying speed goes without saying and Hamilton has hailed Leclerc as “massively talented.”
“I mean, Charles is massively talented and getting to see him work opposite the table and watching him in the garage is, it’s been really, really great to, you know, 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,” Hamilton said (via F1).
“But because we already had a friendship before, I think that’s made it a lot easier to just get straight in the room and work together, and he’s incredibly talented, so he’s going to be so fast this year, I’m looking forward to learning what I can from him and supporting him alongside the team to deliver the best results we can get.”
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