F1 News
Windsor makes bold prediction as to who will win the Hamilton/Leclerc duel
- Estéban den Toom
There has been a lot of talk about Lewis Hamilton in recent days. That is, of course, because the seven-time Formula One world champion reported to Maranello on Monday at Ferrari's offices to start testing, much to the excitement of many F1 fans in Italy and around the world. However, F1 journalist Peter Windsor thinks Hamilton might not have the upper hand against Charles Leclerc in 2025.
The Monegasque driver will be Hamilton's teammate for the 2025 season, but according to Windsor, Hamilton will have to deal with a teammate of a different calibre than the ones he has had so far. During the second half of his time at Mercedes, the 40-year-old had Valtteri Bottas on the other side of the garage, and although he had some wins to his name, he is of a different calibre than Leclerc, according to Windsor. If any Ferrari driver were to become champion for the upcoming season, it would be Leclerc, he believes.
Windsor thinks Leclerc is the stronger one at Ferrari
"I think if the car is good, as I say, I think Charles would win the championship. If there's a championship to be won by a Ferrari that's good enough to win a championship, big mouthful there, but you can hear what I'm saying, I think it'll be Charles Leclerc, over a season, that'll do that. I think given that car, Lewis will also win races, for sure. But if it's a bad car, again, I think Charles will probably have the better of Lewis, over a season," Windsor told his viewers in a livestream.
"If you're thinking that the Lewis at Ferrari is going to be the Lewis that was dominating races at Mercedes, think again, because the reason he was dominating at Mercedes is because he had a very good teammate that allowed him to do that, for most of the time. Obviously, not Nico Rosberg, but Valtteri Bottas. And he had a great car, a great car. So it's not detracting from Lewis in any way. I'm just saying that's not the situation at Ferrari," the 72-year-old concluded.
This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy
Want more Formula 1? Then follow GPblog on our various social media channels!