Charles Leclerc opens up on ‘very difficult’ Carlos Sainz moments ahead of Lewis Hamilton arrival

Charles Leclerc has said he and Carlos Sainz have “overcome some very difficult moments” together as Ferrari team-mates as he prepares to welcome Lewis Hamilton for F1 2025.

Ferrari has yet to break its barren title streak from the 2008 Constructors’ title, but both Leclerc and Sainz have taken race victories during their time together, forming a strong off-track friendship in that time too.

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz overcome ‘very difficult moments’ at Ferrari

The news was announced in February that Hamilton will head to the Scuderia from F1 2025 in a move that will see Sainz head to Williams after the Spanish driver took his time to assess his options before deciding upon the Grove-based team as his next destination.

While Sainz has enjoyed some standout performances in his time as a Ferrari driver, Leclerc admitted Hamilton’s arrival is a sign that the team is still a strong draw.

When asked if Hamilton’s signing has had an impact on his view of Ferrari as a whole, Leclerc told the Italian edition of Motorsport.com : “It was reassuring because taking a driver like Lewis Hamilton is obviously a strong signal.

“I saw it as a positive choice, starting with the fact that Lewis could facilitate the arrival of very talented people in the team.”

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On Sainz, Leclerc added he has enjoyed a productive partnership with the 29-year-old, who will be heading to Williams as a multiple grand prix winner after arriving at Ferrari without a race victory to his name.

While there have been tough moments to get through, both drivers have enjoyed working together.

“Of course. But I’d like to say that I’m very happy with the way I’ve worked with Carlos, he’s an incredible driver and we’ve overcome some very difficult moments during our time at Ferrari , ” Leclerc said.

“And it is also thanks to his contribution that we are improving, we have always worked well together.

“At the same time, when you have a seven-time World Champion joining the team it is always good news, very interesting and very motivating.

“It is interesting because I will be able to learn from one of the best drivers in the entire history of F1, and it is very motivating because I am intrigued by the comparison with Lewis in the same car.

“For these two reasons I can’t wait to start this new chapter, but I still want to say that I have always got on very well with Carlos as well.

“I totally trust the work of the team and I think it is the same for Carlos. Sometimes the differences in views are actually related to the way you speak, a slightly different word can be interpreted in a very different way.

“Honestly, living inside the team I have always had the same optimism and feedback [from Sainz], maybe the way it is portrayed from the outside is a little different.

“We’ve made great progress over the last seven to eight months, then came the problems in Barcelona but that was an isolated case, we’ve worked out where we went wrong and I’m sure we’ll be back on track soon.”

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