Ferrari announced Charles Leclerc‘s contract extension in the last week of January and just a week after that, Lewis Hamilton’s move to Maranello for 2025 was made official. Many questions were raised around Ferrari’s motives and whether Leclerc knew of Hamilton’s arrival before signing the long contract. Will the current Ferrari No.1 be deprioritized for Hamilton? And amid all this, Lewis Hamilton has dealt a blow to Charles Leclerc as the new Ferrari members earn a terrifying prophecy.

The answer to whether Leclerc knew of Hamilton’s arrival before signing the extension is yes, he did. Yet, the Monegasque decided to go head-to-head with the 7X champion. We guarantee you that the title fight is going to be tight if Ferrari builds a championship-worthy car. But what if Ferrari decided to take the Red Bull way and develop the car to the liking and driving style of a specific driver?

That is exactly what F1 Pundit Leo Turrini wondered. Ferrari has just announced that Loic Serra and Jerome d’Ambrosio will join Ferrari from the Mercedes AMG F1 team. The Silver Arrows duo will start working with the Scuderia from the 1st of October 2024. And Leo Turrini has now dropped hints at the fact that Serra and d’Ambrosio will probably lead Ferrari to make a car, that is to Lewis Hamilton’s liking. 

In his blog, as per quotidiano.net, Leo Turrini wrote, “The official arrival of Loic Serra and Jerome D’Ambrosio in Maranello means one very specific thing. And didn’t I tell you to connect the dots, like in the Puzzle Week game? Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari is being born. Everything is held. The first top engineer to land in Emilia is a piece of recent Mercedes history. And where does the former pilot who will support the country priest Vasseur come from? From the Toto Wolff supply chain. I don’t think any other explanation is needed.”

But why does Ferrari building a car to Hamilton’s liking a worry for Leclerc? What are the differences between the 7X Champ and the Monegasque’s driving style? Let’s look at it.

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc’s driving styles: The opposite ends of the spectrum

We’ve already seen Sergio Perez struggling with the Red Bull that is built to Max Verstappen’s liking. The Mexican likes a car that understeers whereas Verstappen likes one that oversteers. Leclerc and Hamilton will have a similar issue as well. The Monegasque’s driving style is very similar to Max Verstappen, where the car is always on the knife’s edge, and is super pointy. Thanks to the driver wanting more front-end grip, hence making the car oversteer. This is a rather risky style of driving and is often the reason why Leclerc crashes frequently. 

Lewis Hamilton on the other side likes a car with a strong rear end, a car that understeers a little. We’ve seen over the last couple of years Hamilton complaining of the seating position in the Mercedes, suggesting he’s not able to feel what the rear of the car is doing. The read-end grip is essential for the 7X champ. While Leclerc chucks the car into a corner, Hamilton eases it in as smoothly as possible. Both driving styles are effective, but the car should also be designed and set up around the same. 

Therefore, if Ferrari builds a car to Hamilton’s liking, a one that understeers, Leclerc will likely have to change his driving style a bit, or else a struggle like Checo might be on the horizon.