Leclerc’s reply to ‘excellent team-mate’ final season ‘makes a lot sense now’
F1 followers reckon Charles Leclerc’s awkward response to a query about Lewis Hamilton makes extra sense now.
The seven-time world champion is leaving Mercedes, the crew he has been with since 2013, to hitch arch-rivals Ferrari in 2025. After information of the bombshell information first broke on Thursday morning, an official announcement is anticipated simply hours later.
Hamilton has been linked with Ferrari for years, as not too long ago as final yr amid reviews the Briton had held talks with the legendary Italian squad. Both Hamilton and Ferrari disregarded these reviews on the time.
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However, Leclerc, who not too long ago signed a brand new long-term deal at Maranello, was quizzed concerning the prospect of getting Hamilton as a team-mate in a drivers’ press convention on the Monaco Grand Prix. Asked what makes the proper team-mate, the Monegasque laughed sheepishly earlier than turning to Hamilton and saying, “hello Lewis”. Hamilton, in flip, laughed alongside.
With the 39-year-old set to hitch Ferrari in any case, a clip of that alternate has re-emerged on social media. One fan stated: “THIS MAKES MUCH MORE SENSE NOW.” Another agreed: “It does.”
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A 3rd excited fan stated: “I was waiting to see if someone posted this!!!!!” A fourth identified: “There were rumours at this stage as well so that reaction made sense in the moment.”
At the time, Hamilton insisted he was near signing a brand new take care of Mercedes. He did simply that, penning a brand new two-year take care of the Silver Arrows in August. However, it now appears there was a break choice in that deal, permitting Ferrari to pounce.
(Image: F1)
“When you are in contract negotiations there is always going to be speculation, and unless you hear it from me that is all it is,” he stated earlier than signing that deal. “My team is working closely behind the scenes with [Mercedes team principal] Toto [Wolff], and we are almost at the end of having a contract ready.
“This is the first time that I have not been negotiating myself. I have a great team in the background that does the work and I focus on the job on hand. I say what I want and that is what we are working towards so hopefully in the coming weeks [it will be decided].”
Meanwhile, Ferrari crew principal Fred Vasseur denied discussions with Hamilton had taken place. The Frenchman, who was Hamilton’s crew boss in GP2 (now F2), stated: “We aren’t sending a proposal to Lewis. We didn’t do it, and we’ve not had discussions.
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“Every single team on the grid would like to have Hamilton at one stage, and it would be bulls*** to not say something like this. But if I have had discussions with Hamilton, it is because I have had discussions with him for the last 20 years.
“I have discussed things almost every single weekend with Hamilton, and I don’t want to have to stop having discussions with him because you are chasing me [about a contract offer].”
