Lewis Hamilton opening up Ferrari to 'interesting' ideas, says Charles Leclerc

With his wealth of experience in Formula One, Lewis Hamilton is a cut above the rest of the drivers in the paddock.

At 40 years old, Hamilton is now producing movies and helping Ferrari better design their cars. And he is doing it in style. 

The seven-time world champion made the headline move to Ferrari at the end of last season, as Mercedes' domination came to an end after the FIA introduced the ground effect changes.

Hamilton is chasing an eighth world title and moved to Ferrari with the intention of seizing it in a red Prancing Horse. While the first half of this season could not be described as successful when looking from the outside, fellow driver Charles Leclerc suggested that Hamilton has opened Ferrari up to a world of knowledge they never knew. 

Winning seven titles does not come without a deep understanding of the machines he drove and thus Hamilton possesses a skill very few drivers on the paddock have - an ability to provide meaningful feedback that can allow engineers to make the necessary adjustments.

It’s Hamilton’s first time driving a Ferrari, whereas Leclerc has been in the Ferrari since 2019, but still, he thinks Hamilton’s got some interesting ideas.

“It’s been very interesting to see the areas where we [Ferrari] were working completely differently, compared to a team like Mercedes, which had huge success in the past.

“And to compare this way of working. I’m sure that this will help us to take steps forward in the future. There’s already been very interesting feedback from Lewis, because for me [the feeling in the car], it’s the normality. It opens your mind to different working techniques. 

“It hasn’t gone as well as what I expected or wanted this season, that’s for sure. But we are working hard to try and turn the situation around,” Leclerc told the Times. 

Ferrari have made changes this season to the SF-25, but still Leclerc has outpaced his teammate at almost every race. Hamilton indicated that he’s working on some modifications to the chassis together with technical director Loic Serra to hopefully iron out the kinks. 

Earlier this season, ahead of the British GP, Hamilton said he’s slowly migrated to a way of driving similar to Leclerc and found that his pace quickened.

 "This year with this car, we have lots of different tools and ways in which we can set the car up. Charles has been here for a long time, and he's been a part of evolving and developing this car, and he's very accustomed to it.

"He's found one way in which the car works. I've tried all the other directions that should work but they just don't for whatever reasons. And I've slowly migrated to the place where Charles does run the car, and last week our pace was the closest it's been,” Hamilton said.