Former FIA President and Ferrari boss Jean Todt is unsure whether Lewis Hamilton over Carlos Sainz represents a level-up for the Italian Formula 1 giant.
Seven-time champion Hamilton replaces Sainz at Ferrari, with the Spaniard moving to Williams after four seasons with the Scuderia.
Charles Leclerc believes Hamilton’s championship-winning pedigree will be a benefit to Ferrari, telling RacingNews365 “With how much success Lewis has had, it’s going to be incredibly interesting to hear him and see how he used to work with other very successful teams.
“Whether he was with Mercedes and McLaren before, he won championships with both,” Leclerc added.
“For sure, it will pull us upward, help us learn and see different perspectives in our ways of working.”
Ferrari is looking to end its title drought with 17 seasons having passed since Kimi Raikkonen’s success in 2007.
Todt was Team Principal at Ferrari from 1993 through 2004 and CEO for four years after that masterminded a turnaround at the Scuderia as Michael Schumacher ended a Drivers’ title drought in 2000 that harked back to Jody Scheckter’s 1979 triumph.
The Frenchman believes that Ferrari is close to tasting such success once again, but isn’t sure whether it’s the team’s drivers that are the key to making that step.
“What is Ferrari missing to win? Little, very little. Even in the past, they came very close,” he told Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
“Even the line-up with Charles 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,” he added.
“Will it be better than the previous one? I have no idea, we’ll have to see the level of the car.”
True enough, Sainz added two Grand Prix wins to Leclerc’s three in 2024 and the duo combined for 652 points, just 14 behind Constructors’ Champions McLaren despite having a mid-season slump due to poorly optimised upgrades.
But adding Hamilton’s pedigree to Leclerc’s prowess is arguably, on paper the strongest line-up on the F1 grid and could well provide an edge if Ferrari and McLaren are on par in terms of car development.
Hamilton will motivate Leclerc – Todt
A lot of the talk of Hamilton’s move to Ferrari has been how he’ll stack up against Leclerc.
2024 was a rollercoaster of a season for F1’s joint-record title-winner.
Despite returning to winning ways on two occasions, Hamilton was comprehensively out-qualified by Mercedes team-mate George Russell.
That is something Hamilton will need to work on to keep up with Leclerc, but how will the Monegasque driver react to having Hamilton as a team-mate?
Leclerc has been a long-standing member of the Ferrari family, as an academy driver for the Scuderia before joining the team in F1 in 2019.
Todt believes that Leclerc will be motivated by Hamilton’s arrival, similar to how Russell rose to the occasion to challenge the veteran during their three years together at Mercedes.
“I don’t think [Leclerc] will be affected by Hamilton,” Todt said.
“For Charles, it could be an opportunity to be even more motivated, much like what happened with George Russell at Mercedes.”
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