Charles Leclerc Will Need to ‘Suck Up’ Lewis Hamilton Being Ferrari’s “Number 1”: Will Buxton

The Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc future dynamic at Ferrari is heavily under question. F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has predicted that Leclerc will never accept “wing-manship duties” for Hamilton at Ferrari. Both drivers are champion material, however, only 1 of them has converted that potential into World Championships (that too, 7 of them). This reason, coupled with the Briton’s closeness with Ferrari TP Frederic Vasseur, can make him Ferrari’s ‘Number 1’, as claimed by F1 TV presenter Will Buxton.

Ever since Vasseur joined Ferrari in 2023, he hasn’t had to solve any driver conflicts. Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc have worked like a well-oiled machine, following team orders as they come. But the same can’t be said about the Hamilton-Leclerc pairing, with the Briton desperately chasing a record-breaking championship and the Monegasque his first.

But Buxton feels Leclerc will have to settle for the second position  Hamilton, as per his narrative from the Red Flags podcast. “You say to Charles, ‘Look, he’s a 7-time World Champion, and he’s gonna come in as Number 1. And you just have to suck this up and use this opportunity to learn from him. This is your team. This will always be your team. You are gonna be here for the long term. Lewis is gonna be here for 2-3 seasons’,” Buxton opined. Then, the British journalist went deeper into the driver-team principal dynamic, planning to get to the bottom of the ‘Number 1’ mystery.

Frederic Vasseur’s closeness with Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton will be under Frederic Vasseur’s management from 2025 onwards. But this isn’t the first time they will be sharing this dynamic. The 7-time champion has driven under Vasseur’s leadership for ART Grand Prix during his GP3 (Now, Formula 3) days. That experience could tip the scales in his favor, reckons Will Buxton.

“It’s a difficult one but Lewis and Fred go way back,” said Buxton.

“Like they go way back to Formula 3. There is one reason why Lewis is going to Ferrari and why Fred wants Lewis at Ferrari. And that is Fred wants to bring the championship back to Ferrari and Lewis wants to win his 8th. So there is no shadow of doubt. Lewis is not going there to be the support act for Charles Leclerc’s title aspirations.”

Championship or not, this driver duo might have their share of on-track conflicts like the Nico Rosberg-Lewis Hamilton pairing from 2016.

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