01 March 2024 , 06:00
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The new Formula 1 season gets underway tomorrow in Bahrain, with Lewis Hamilton set for his final year with Mercedes.
The seven-time F1 world champion has agreed a blockbuster move to Ferrari in 2025, which will see him partner Charles Leclerc. And back in 2019, Leclerc looked set to pick up his first ever race win at the Bahrain Grand Prix before an engine problem saw him pipped by Hamilton.
With just nine laps to go, Leclerc's engine issue saw Hamilton pass him and he ultimately ended up finishing third. However, the Brit offered some words of encouragement to his then rival at the time, revealing he went to speak to Leclerc after the race.
"You have to take it as it comes," Hamilton said. "This is a great result for the team, but this guy here [Leclerc] has got wins in him. Congratulations to him.
"I had to go and see Charles because he did such a great job. I'm sure it was a devastating result for him because he'd done the job to win. We were lucky. This guy has a lot of race wins coming in the future."
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Leclerc went on to pick up his first race win later that year in Belgium and the 26-year-old is now looking forward to racing alongside Hamilton in 2025. "Well, obviously these kind of deals are not finalised overnight, so it takes of course time," Leclerc said.
"I was aware of those discussions before signing my [new] deal. It didn't come out as a surprise after signing. For the rest, I don't want to comment on it much, mostly out of respect for Carlos. We've had great years together and we have one more together to do.
Hamilton and Leclerc will be teammates at Ferrari in 2025 (Getty Images)"We will do absolutely everything to finish on the highest note possible. Pbviously Lewis is an incredible driver, the most successful in history, with a lot of experience as well, which he will bring to the team and obviously myself, which is a good thing.
"Yes, we've had discussions with Lewis, especially when everything was announced and official. We texted each other of course. As I said, Lewis is a great champion with a lot of experience and so much success.
"It's always interesting to have a new team mate as you learn different ways of working and of driving. Even more so when my new team mate is a seven-time world champion."
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