10 February 2024 , 11:00
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Martin Brundle has declared Charles Leclerc to be the fastest Formula 1 driver over one lap - but refused to write off Lewis Hamilton's chances of getting the better of his future Ferrari team-mate.
At the age of 40, Hamilton will begin a new chapter of his stellar F1 career next year when he completes his move to Maranello. He will replace Carlos Sainz and go up against Leclerc, who signed a new Ferrari deal last month.
It is clear that neither of them will be happy with second-driver status. Leclerc has been the central cog around which the Ferrari team has been built since he joined, while seven-time world champion Hamilton will be in pursuit of an eighth crown before he retires.
That may be easier said than done. Firstly, he is gambling on Ferrari being able to provide him with a car capable of competing with Red Bull and Mercedes for the title. And they will need to do it while he is still at the peak of his powers.
And even if the Italians do deliver on that front, he will have a strong rival within the same team. Speaking to Sky Sports, former F1 driver Brundle insists it is not a-given that either of them will be clearly stronger than the other.
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He said: "Leclerc I think is potentially, on an outright qualifying lap, the fastest driver out there at the moment, even including Max Verstappen. He's blindingly fast, tends to run into a few things he didn't ought to from time to time and fly off the road, Charles, because he just drives so near the limit.
"But it's a wonderful combination and let's not disregard what a great driver Carlos Sainz is as well, who's in the Ferrari for the coming season. Presumably he's got to have a chance to go to Mercedes or some other teams on the grid.
"But never write off Lewis Hamilton. We know he knows how to win races and championships and it'll be very Schumacher-esque if he can go there and really drive the team to start winning a lot more races and be championship contenders."
Speaking at a sponsor event this week, Leclerc did not mention Hamilton by name - but made it clear he doesn't want to play second-fiddle to any team-mate. He said: "To win the championship, this is the only target I have. I'm only happy when I win, second place is not my target.
"You need to give yourself realistic targets as well, as much as we are always optimistic and try to do the best job possible. We all want to win but looking at where we are starting from from last year, Red Bull had a big advantage. So now we need to close the gap as much as possible. We will do absolutely everything to try and, and do the step that, that is our goal in order to challenge."