What has impressed Charles Leclerc most about Lewis Hamilton

Charles Leclerc has revealed what has impressed him the most about new Ferrari F1 teammate Lewis Hamilton.

There is huge interest and intrigue surrounding how Hamilton will fare having joined Leclerc at Ferrari following his blockbuster switch from F1 rivals Mercedes over the winter.

Leclerc has already outlined the details about the seven-time world champion which have impressed him, including his “natural talent”.

“His work ethic and how much into the detail he goes,” Leclerc told Sky Sports.

“But that’s something I’ve seen as well with Seb [Vettel] as well, winning so many championships you really go for the last detail. That was very, very impressive.

“Other than that, I think just his natural talent. Already from the first test that, even if he doesn’t know the car so much, he’s straight away on the limit of it and he challenges it straight away. This is something very impressive.”

No driver is bigger than Ferrari

Amid the fanfare and unprecedented hype of Hamilton’s arrival at Maranello over recent months, Leclerc has dismissed the notion that the 40-year-old Briton will receive special treatment.

"There's no place for one particular driver in Ferrari. I mean, Ferrari is bigger than any driver,” Leclerc told media in Melbourne.

"I think that's always been the case in Ferrari. That's what makes Ferrari so special. There's support for the team and not for one specific driver. So I don't think that's the case.

"Obviously, Lewis is coming in the team as a legend of the sport. And so there's a lot more attention on him than there is for me at the moment. But I'm completely fine with it. I completely understand that.

"And it's normal that it's that way. So it's fine for me. But I don't think there's a competition on who needs to be the driver for Ferrari, and there won't ever be that.”

Hamilton referred to Leclerc as “Mr. Ferrari” as he praised the 27-year-old Monegasque’s work ethic during a press conference in Melbourne on Thursday.

“I would say work ethic. It's been really good,” Hamilton said when asked what has surprised him the most about Leclerc.

“I didn't know [that before], you don't know what happens behind closed doors.

“Naturally, I think every driver works really hard, but everyone has a different method in how they achieve their ultimate performance. And it's been really interesting to see.

“He's obviously been in the team a long time. It's his second team. Obviously the team he was with before it was relatively short there, and then he's had this amazing time at Ferrari.

“And so he is very, very, very much Mr Ferrari, and it's been really cool to work alongside him and I'm really looking forward to working alongside him for the year.”