Ferrari didn’t just sign Lewis Hamilton for his seven world titles and 100+ wins. Team principal Fred Vasseur brought him on board with the belief that Hamilton could be a catalyst for change in an organization famously resistant to it.
Charles Leclerc is undoubtedly one of the quickest drivers on the grid. But unlike Hamilton, whose Formula 1 journey began in 2007, he doesn’t yet have the same commanding presence—or the breadth of experience required to shift a team’s internal culture.
Ferrari, the sport’s most historic team with over 1,000 races and 31 championships, has often been criticized for clinging to outdated methods. That same conservatism may explain why they haven’t claimed a title since 2007. Hamilton’s arrival prompts a vital question: how much influence will Ferrari actually allow him to have?
Damon Hill: Hamilton Brings What Ferrari Needs—And Leclerc Can’t Offer
Despite Leclerc outperforming Hamilton in 2025’s early sessions (leading 18-8), some experts believe the long-term project should center around the Brit’s insight. As Damon Hill said on Sky Sports’ F1 Show:
“There’s so much to learn about a new team. When you’ve been somewhere for what, 11 seasons was it with Mercedes, and you go somewhere else, there’s a lot to learn.”
“If you just talk about people, knowing who the people are, the language, all those other factors. He’s got a lot to work on.”
But Hill also made a striking comparison between the two Ferrari stars:
“I do think that they’ve got a chance of doing something with Lewis when I don’t think they would have a chance of developing with Charles, because Charles has never been anywhere else. That’s the problem. Going from one team to another, it takes a few years.”
While Leclerc has been part of Ferrari’s setup since 2019, with just one prior season at Sauber, Hamilton brings with him 12 seasons of elite-level knowledge from Mercedes’ dominant era.
Hamilton himself has already explained how Leclerc might see Ferrari’s quirks as “normal” simply because he’s never worked elsewhere. This makes it harder for the Monegasque to identify flaws that someone like Hamilton—coming from a radically different car philosophy—can immediately spot.
Even Leclerc’s Own Coach Is Backing Hamilton’s Vision
Interestingly, one of Hamilton’s biggest supporters at Ferrari is Jock Clear, a performance engineer and Leclerc’s own driver coach. Clear worked with Hamilton during his Mercedes days and, according to Simon Lazenby, he’s now urging Ferrari to pay close attention to Hamilton’s input.
Clear has praised Hamilton’s “amazing” feedback and wants the team to act on it.
Hamilton is already pushing Ferrari toward a less aggressive car concept for the 2026 season—something that could benefit both drivers if the engineers follow his lead.
If Ferrari listens, Hamilton could help them break free from the cycle of near-misses and missed opportunities. And if they don’t? They may just repeat history—with Leclerc stuck in the same loop, and Hamilton’s influence wasted.
