01 March 2024 , 08:00
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Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari could be "a bit of a knock" to Charles Leclerc, according to Sky Sports' Naomi Schiff.
The Brit has made one of the biggest moves in the sport's history by announcing he will swap Mercedes for the Scuderia next season. Hamilton has spent more than a decade with the Silver Arrows, winning six world champions, but will now join the most famous name in motorsport.
Leclerc has been Ferrari's most successful driver since coming on board back in 2019. He rose through the team's ranks and got the better of Sebastian Vettel initially whilst he's also won more races than Carlos Sainz. Leclerc has been tipped as a future world champion, but is yet to mount a meaningful charge.
Schiff concedes that whilst the current dynamic with Sainz has been problematic, owing to the team not picking a clear No 1, the imminent arrival of Hamilton could be an issue. Leclerc may struggle to demand lead driver status but the Sky pundit sees ways he could make the team work for him.
She told Mirror Sport : "I think this could be very tricky. Leclerc has been committed to this team for a while, he's building his future there. He wants to win world championships and it has been challenging with Carlos, having not picked a No 1 driver. I think Charles feels he should be the No 1 driver so the Hamilton announcement might be a bit of knock him.
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"How do you turn round to Lewis and say you're going to be No 2 to Charles. But I do think it'll be easier than the current dynamic because of the respect he has for Lewis. So it is almost easier to say he's the GOAT so I'll step aside and take these years to watch and learn.
"Charles has been there for so many years, speaks the language fluently. The team is extremely Italian and that's what sets them apart. That could be something that Charles can play on in terms of a psychological, favouritism aspect against Lewis - so I hope he's doing his duo lingo."
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Whilst Hamilton has announced his exit Mercedes are yet to give any clues as to who could replace him. Several names have been banded about - Esteban Ocon and Andrea Antonelli among them - but Fernando Alonso too could be an option.
Fernando Alonso could be a major market mover for 2025 (Getty Images)Despite his age the Spaniard, who won the second of his two world championships back in 2006, has continued to be competitive since his move to Aston Martin and has made no secret of his desire to go to a team who will provide him with a winning package.
Mercedes are aiming to close the gap on the likes of Ferrari and Red Bull, which could see Alonso get interested. "Something I'd be excited to see is Fernando," said Schiff "He has mentioned he'll give priority to Aston Martin when negotiations come around. If there's open thing we know about Fernando is he will go where its competitive, he'll go where suits him. I think that will depend on the performance of the cars - if Mercedes have a competitive car then Fernando could well end up there."
Lando's McLaren challenge
One of Alonso's former teams, McLaren, are among those who Aston Martin will be competing with. The Woking-based outfit have shown that they can mix it with the big teams when they hook their package up and Lando Norris will be hoping that can take him to a first win.
The British driver has been one of the standouts on the grid for years and committed himself to McLaren recently. In team-mate Oscar Piastri though he has a genuine competitor with the Australian growing into his rookie year. Eventually he took the top step of the podium - something Norris is yet to do - when he won the sprint race in Qatar.
Schiff expects the gap to close even more between the pair having been impressed by the young Australian, whose attitude could cause problems for Lando.
Lando Norris is set to be pushed all the way by Oscar Piastri (Getty Images)She said: He's extremely promising, the combination of the two will work in favour of the team. When Daniel was around that car wasn't working for him, his results weren't putting any pressure on Lando and I think it is important for Lando that he has a team-mate who pushes him.
"I think the gap will get tighter and tighter which could be tough for Lando, Oscar has proven to be a contender. He can walk away from his rookie season and say he's led laps, has won a sprint event so he'll be fighting to be, not necessarily the No 1 driver, but he'll be fighting Lando at every race.
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Schiff also added: "Lando is a tough one, you always see him at the beginning of weekends being more pessimistic than optimistic - he might call it realistic. A lot of the time he says its because he doesn't want to put too much pressure on himself, so I think with Lando there is a mental challenge.
"You can see on multiple occasions, as desperate as he is to win a race, on occasions he's had a car to at least fight for the lead. The few opportunities he's had, maybe to put the car on pole, it is he who's made the mistake. Oscar being on his tail is absolutely not going to help - what Oscar has proven is he's cool, calm and collected all the time."
The Greatest Track on Earth has been created to celebrate the 2024 Formula 1 season starting 29 February, live and exclusive on Sky Sports F1 and NOW. Find out more at skysports.com.