The 2018 Formula One season begins tomorrow in Bahrain, with Lewis Hamilton preparing for his final year with Mercedes.
The seven-time Formula One world champion has agreed to a massive move to Ferrari in 2025, where he will partner Charles Leclerc. And in 2019, Leclerc appeared to be on his way to his maiden race victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix until being pipped by Hamilton due to an engine failure.
With only nine circuits to remaining, Hamilton passed Leclerc, and he eventually finished third. However, the Brit provided some words of encouragement to his then-rival, Leclerc, stating that he went to chat with him following the race.
“You have to take it as it comes,” Hamilton explained. “This is a fantastic result for the team, but this guy [Leclerc] has wins in him. Congratulations to him!”I had to go visit Charles because he performed an excellent job. I’m sure he was devastated by the outcome because he had done everything he could to win. We were lucky. “This guy will win a lot of races in the future.”
Leclerc went on to win his maiden race later that year in Belgium, and the 26-year-old is now excited to race alongside Hamilton in 2025. “Well, obviously these kind of deals are not finalised overnight, so it takes of course time,” Leclerc was quoted as saying.
“I was aware of such discussions before signing my new contract. It did not come as a surprise after signing. For the most part, I don’t want to say anything about it since I respect Carlos. “We’ve had great years together and have one more to go. “We shall do everything we can to conclude on a positive note. Lewis is obviously an amazing driver, the most successful in history, with a wealth of experience that he will bring to the team and, of course, to myself, which is a wonderful thing.
