Charles Leclerc showed his class during the F1 75 Live event on Tuesday, using his time on the stage to express his desire to ‘write history alongside Lewis Hamilton’. The two stars are now team-mates and have their eyes on both World Championships in 2024.

Leclerc has long been considered the future of Ferrari since joining to replace Kimi Raikkonen off the back of his debut season with Sauber. However, in Hamilton, he faces a new level of competition after enjoying the upper hand against Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz.

Ferrari head into the 2025 campaign as second-favourites to become world champions after McLaren. The Scuderia will be intent on exacting revenge after losing out to Andrea Stella’s squad in the Constructors’ Championship during the final race of the season in 2024.

Leclerc was asked to sum up his feelings about the 2025 season in one word. He replied: “I am actually excited. Fred didn’t show me the car until tonight, so I am actually discovering it with you all. If I had to choose one word, I was going to say fulfilment.

“Fulfilling my childhood dream of becoming Formula One world champion. But I think the one that fits better is honour.

“[I am] honoured to be part of this team, it has been a dream of mine since I was a child growing up. I am living the dream and super honoured to be part of this team, hopefully looking forward to writing history alongside Lewis.”

After establishing his position as Ferrari’s main man during Vettel and Sainz’s tenures, it would be understandable for Leclerc to see Hamilton’s arrival as a threat. Instead, the two drivers have struck up an admirable relationship.

“When a champion like Lewis gets to any team, it brings a lot of motivation out of every single person,” he explained. “He will come along with all the experience that he’s had over the years with Mercedes – a different way of working, a different vision – and this is always benefitting a team.”

He added: “Obviously, for me, it’s going to be amazing because I’ll have in the same car as me the most successful driver in F1 history. That will be both extremely interesting for me to learn from one of the best ever, as well as a really big challenge and motivation to beat Lewis and to show what I’m capable of.

“With Lewis joining the team, he will definitely be a benchmark so it will be very important for me to be on my top level.”