‘Focused on Myself,’ Charles Leclerc Unbothered by Lewis Hamilton’s Struggle to Adapt at Ferrari

Charles Leclerc reckons that he is too focused on his own performances to worry about Lewis Hamilton's underwhelming debut season at Ferrari.

‘Focused on Myself,’ Charles Leclerc Unbothered by Lewis Hamilton’s Struggle to Adapt at Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc (via Getty)

Ferrari is currently facing massive performance struggles compared to its rivals at the forefront. The Italian constructor was believed to fight for both championships early on after acquiring the seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton. However, both Hamilton and Charles Leclerc struggle to achieve even a podium finish in races. Still, despite Maranello struggling to get a grip with the Briton, Leclerc assures that his priorities lie in his own performances and not the 40-year-old.

Lewis Hamilton‘s first six races with Ferrari have been nothing short of a massive challenge. The Briton also fought verbally with his race engineer Ricciardo Adami on two different occasions. As such, Hamilton is facing many more issues than he thought he would during his transition to Maranello. Charles Leclerc was questioned if he would provide any assistance to the seven-time champion to ease his switch to the completely new environment at the Italian constructor.

Charles Leclerc points out that he is currently focused on himself and not worried about Hamilton at all. The 27-year-old notes that he is trying to extract the maximum out of himself and the Ferrari challenger. This in itself is a big task as Leclerc faces issues in coping with the massive challenges with Ferrari this year. Since this already requires a lot of effort, he is unable to pay attention to the Briton and his time at the Scuderia.

I’m fully focused on myself and trying to extract the maximum out of myself, out of the car, and that already requires a lot of work.

Charles Leclerc told GPblog

Leclerc still believes that Hamilton will eventually reach that spot and start scoring better with Ferrari. The 27-year-old recalled the Briton’s only highlight of the season after scoring a sprint race win in China. The Monegasque feels that he still has to learn a lot from the seven-time champion as the two get through the struggles with Maranello. Regardless, the 40-year-old has already taught a lot to his teammate about performing well in the pinnacle of motorsport.

I’m sure Lewis will get there, and obviously he got such a great win in China. And yeah, there’s still a lot to learn, but I already learned a lot from Lewis.

Charles Leclerc added

Charles Leclerc reveals Lewis Hamilton’s ‘fresh look’ at Ferrari’s way of operating

Lewis Hamilton had planned a lot of things to be done within the Italian-dominant crew at Ferrari and hoped to improve inclusivity in the team. Moreover, the 40-year-old has a no-nonsense way of dealing with things, which the Italian constructor greatly appreciates. While there has been a lot of back and forth between Hamilton and his race engineer, the two still hold great respect for one another. Even Charles Leclerc doesn’t write off the Briton’s importance to the team despite being there for only a couple of months currently.

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc (via Ferrari)
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc (via Ferrari)

Charles Leclerc asserted that it has been great to have the seven-time champion present in the team this year. Hamilton is also challenging a lot of the traditional ways of operation of Ferrari, which is providing them with a refreshed look on their ins and outs. Due to this particular habit, the Prancing Horse has already learnt a great deal and is continuing to do so. Hence, the team has all the things available to make a turnaround in performance against the rivals this year.

It’s great to have him in the team and to challenge the way we have done things for many, many years and also give a fresh view of how we approach different things, so on that we’ve learned a lot already.

Charles Leclerc noted

Ferrari has to cover massive ground in performance this year to start competing at the forefront for race wins. The team must achieve an immediate improvement in pace if they want to retain Hamilton’s interest in the team. Leclerc has kept up with his consistent efforts to score well and is above the 40-year-old in the standings. Time will tell about how the development war pans out for the Italian constructor as they hope to finally contend for either of the championships, if not both, this year.

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