Looking ahead to the anticipated intra-team battle of 2025, Naomi Schiff asserts Ferrari’s inability to subordinate Lewis Hamilton to the role of Charles Leclerc’s wingman.
Freshly contracted with Ferrari for the 2025 season, Leclerc’s fate took a surprising turn with Hamilton‘s unexpected departure from Mercedes to join Ferrari.
Hamilton invoked a contractual clause, departing Mercedes prematurely from his two-year commitment, opting instead for a lucrative multi-year deal with Ferrari.
The Formula 1 community is already buzzing with excitement over Ferrari’s formidable lineup.
Hamilton, arguably the most accomplished driver in history, is poised to chase his elusive eighth World Championship title, a feat he narrowly missed with Mercedes.
Meanwhile, Leclerc, often hailed as Ferrari’s future and a potential World Champion, boasts a promising career but falls short in comparison with only five Grand Prix victories and no World titles, while Hamilton boasts 103 wins and seven titles.
Given their divergent statuses in Formula 1, Schiff contends that Ferrari cannot designate Hamilton as Leclerc’s subordinate. In fact, she suggests that he could even be regarded as the team’s primary driver ahead of Leclerc.
She said; “I absolutely believe Lewis could be considered the number one driver at Ferrari. It’s a tough one.
“I think a lot of people are thinking about how that dynamic is going to work between Charles, who has been at the team for many years and has established himself although not officially as a number one driver, he is seen as that – and then Lewis coming in as seven-time World Champion with leaps and bounds of experience.
“I can’t personally see how you would make Lewis a number two to anyone on the grid.
“He is the driver on the grid with the most championship wins so how could you possibly tell him that you’re going to put a driver with no championship wins as a number one driver to him?
“It’s going to be a tough balance to strike given how well Charles knows the team, and maybe what he feels he deserves given his loyalty to the team, balanced with Lewis’ experience and his status as a driver.”
