Hamilton vs Leclerc Lap Times LEAKED?! 🚨😳

Alright guys, welcome back to F1 News. Testing in Bahrain is set to get underway in just a few days' time. The big test of the last few days was the unveiling of the SF25 at Fiorano, with reports emerging that Leclerc's fastest lap time was substantially faster than the Hamilton's during their sessions a couple of days ago. Internal sources at Ferrari say this is no big deal and no surprise, the two drivers were on separate run plans, but it has certainly got people talking about whether Hamilton will ever be able to manage Leclerc's lap times he's going to put down in this year's Ferrari. Subscribe if you're new, as always. We are going to begin here, because this is Mohamed Ben Saliham, and as amazing as it might be, the worst person you know actually might have made a good point. Now, this, I don't know if this is written by him, this week's F1 launch in London has triggered a lot of positive discussion on the future of the sport. While we look forward to the introduction of the 2026 regulations on the chassis and power unit, we must also lead the way on future technological motorsport trends. We should consider a range of directions, including the roaring sound of the V10 running on sustainable fuel. Whichever direction is chosen, we must support the teams and manufacturers in ensuring cost control and R&D expenditure, etc, etc. So, yeah, can you believe it? Ben Saliham got out of the right side of the bed and he made a fair take, even given the fact that he and the FIA were booed heavily at this launch event in London. But the bottom line is that even before the 2026 regulations with the brand new engines with the 50% hybrid have even been employed into F1, we've got the president of the FIA talking about wanting to get rid of that and move back to another alternative. Now, I've said this for years that I would, you know, if I got to choose, this is what I would do. And it's nice to see that people are now talking about it as a realistic possibility again. It's certainly been a major discussion in other motorsports as to whether batteries with the way the technology currently is and the importance of the hybrid unit in 2026, how heavy the batteries are and exactly what the manufacturers want to do in terms of the way they're developing going forwards, because there is lots of talk about sustainable fuel. Of course, people are going to argue how sustainable that fueling actually is that they're coming up with and developing. But nonetheless, there is a theory that maybe that's the way to go because, you know, electricity is not exactly sustainable a lot of the time because a lot of the time the electricity is not being generated by the sources that they might want you to believe it's being generated through. But look, at the end, it's not like batteries is especially clean production pipeline, let's say, in terms of where a lot of the raw materials are coming from. So that's a topic for probably a different channel. But the bottom line is that the FIA are considering the return of V10 engines, which everyone knows. And even, like, can you believe it, Dominic Arley from the F1 side, Formula One management, he said the same thing. So there seems to be one thing on which the FIA and F1 are aligned, and that is effectively scrapping the hybrids or at least considering doing so at some point and going back to combustion power on sustainable fueling. Now, the interesting thing about this is I would have mentioned this quote regardless, but there was an article here from John Noble that just came out very recently, actually, from the race. According to sources, they have suggesting that this isn't just a pipe dream. This isn't just like he's just saying this for good PR. This is something they are genuinely considering, and that's what Noble says. The race has learned the governing body has embarked on a formal evaluation process with F1 chiefs in the final stages of fine tuning the new turbo hybrid rigged for 2026. Thoughts have already started to shift to the 2030 regulations, and sure, that is a long way down the line. But the article does describe how one option that has gathered some momentum is reverting to a V10 normally aspirated power unit that is run on fully sustainable fuel. Apparently, that stood out to Ben Sulliam, who posted there on Instagram about the idea. We saw those comments a second ago. So, you know, we don't know where this is going yet. It may not happen. They may stick with what would be the easier option and maintaining some sort of turbo hybrid component. But it's not impossible. And my feeling is that other motorsports will move in this direction, even potentially under the FIA as well. So that's all we need to know on it for now. But this is Ben Sulliam's comments suggesting bringing back the V10s. Can you believe it? He said something that I actually agree with, which I guess is going to happen one in every 100 times. Now, this is interesting, too. Alpine, they have one of the more stunning liveries, whether it's good or bad. I mean, like, it's kind of, well, I'm not sure it's pretty. It's notable, I guess, for sure, with the pink and the blue. And they've done a better job than I've seen from them in previous years. Unfortunately, it seems like they spent much of their budget on the livery and not on designing a new chassis. The reality is they will have spent their budget on 2026, more so than this year. And it does feel like Alpine are in a position where they're maybe willing to sacrifice this year even more so than other teams. Because, you know, whenever you hear of a team reusing some of its last year's chassis for its new chassis. OK, last year's car got better with upgrades they brought. I mean, the double podium in Brazil is still kind of mind blowing. But still, basically, every team will change their chassis. The fact that Alpine aren't and it's not like they had a championship winning car probably implies they're happy just to run it down this year. Until 2026, where they've then got Mercedes power underneath them. And, of course, they'll be hoping that will be a massive positive for them. So I think for Jack Dewan, that makes things even more challenging, right? Because we know that Dewan is going to have to do something pretty spectacular out of the gate, I would imagine, to maintain his seat over Franco Colopinto. And if the car isn't very good, his chances of delivering a performance that is impressive is even weaker. Especially because Gasly in the past has done very well in those kind of midfield cars, as we've seen before. So Colopinto is, according to Briatore, one of the most important assets at Alpine. Which is probably literally true in terms of sponsor value. But also isn't something that you would say about a driver who is just going to sit on the sidelines for years. So, yeah, do feel bad for Dewan, but I guess this is motorsport. Sometimes it's not always fair, and maybe Colopinto is just straight up the faster driver. Which is also very possible, but I at least want the chance to see what happens when Dewan starts the season. These are the dates we've got to keep in mind. So it's the 26th of February, just a few days' time that we have testing in Bahrain underway with the new cars. It really feels like it's basically here now, the start of the new season. Macht is going to drive in the morning, Lawson in the afternoon. And then on the 17th, or the 27th, sorry, which is the Thursday, it's going to be Max all day. And then Lawson on the final day on the 28th. Not sure we know all this information for other teams as of yet. We'll certainly discuss what Ferrari are up to here in just a second. Lawson makes it clear that his goal and the team's goal is to get back to winning the Constructors' Championship. But that largely depends on his performance and also depends on the performance of the car. And we'll just quickly mention, I've mentioned Lindblad a lot. Arvid Lindblad, who just won a Formula Regional Championship over there in Oceania, I believe. He is considered to be, I don't want to say the next Verstappen, but that's the way that Red Bull see it, right? Like he is their next star driver of the future. And he just did his first F1 test with the 2023 Alfa Tauri at a testing previous car session at Imola over the last day or so. Pretty big deal. They will be treating Lindblad in the same way that Mercedes treated Antonelli, giving him all the development time they can possibly afford him in the world. We will see him in some F1 sessions this year, no doubt about it. I think there's a good chance he's on the grid in Formula 1 next year. I think Red Bull would be a stretch, but certainly at the B team, if they decide to part ways with Yuki Tsunoda or if Yuki leaves, which is also possible if he's not getting the promotion, that's an option there. So just to say they are ramping up that program for him. It depends how he does in the junior formula, in Formula 2 this season for sure. But let's talk Ferrari because they unveiled their car over the last couple of days. They did, you know, more song and dance than basically any other team has done, and understandably so. Lewis Hamilton has just joined the Scuderia. Now, Leclerc was making the point that over the last few years, the direction of the team has become much stronger. He believes that Fred Vasseur is leading the team in the right way to such an extent that he said that Hamilton has joined the team at exactly the right time. With the progress and the development the team are making, he even said that the emotions, which maybe clouded the judgment of Ferrari in difficult situations, that's no longer an issue with the way that things currently are. Like Ferrari is always going to be and contain some level of emotion. Hamilton even made that very clear. The emotion, the passion that he feels there at Ferrari is unlike anything that he's ever felt before. And he's enjoying his time at the team so far, but he does recognize there's a lot to do, there's lots to learn, and there's lots of progress still to be made. Now, the guys at Formula Uno, as they used to be known now, Autoracer, were discussing everything that's happened over the last couple of days there, certainly at Fiorano, and discussing the fact that their sessions had zero problems. And I think that's the main takeaway, right? We are, of course, going to talk about lap times, and they are relevant, and certainly relevant to the fans. Less so relevant to Ferrari, I would say, themselves, they're in a position where, as is described here, what they are happy about is the fact that the car ran very smoothly, with no technical difficulties, and it was there in front of 8,000 people, morning and afternoon, with no problems at all. So, you know, that's interesting, and that will be fundamentally what pleases Ferrari at the end of the day. For Hamilton, though, of course, he was focused primarily on, you know, trying not exactly performance, but just learning, really. This is, what, Leclerc's seventh Ferrari, maybe? Something in that kind of ballpark? I think that's about right. So, that says Ferrari has, and Leclerc, lots of experience with each other, certainly around this particular circuit. So, you wouldn't expect Hamilton to be smoking Leclerc's lap times around this particular track, no doubt. And, obviously, also dependent on how things look in terms of what run plan they actually have. So, this is what this article describes. The technicians have started the normal learning process of the SF25 by obtaining the necessary data, installation data, etc., etc. After the TPC test with the previous cars, Hamilton had asked for some changes, which have already been made, and other small details were requested in the evening at Fiorano, and will be perfected for Bahrain. Nothing big, there's no strong differences with Leclerc's settings. So, it feels, at least early on, that Hamilton is relatively satisfied with the way the car is balanced, and the fact that maybe Leclerc and Hamilton are both going to be pretty happy with this car, which has definitely not been the case with previous drivers at previous teams. Hamilton, though, does say, obviously, he's got a lot to learn. I'm not at the level that I want yet, and I know it. Everything is different. I have to work on it a lot. So, you know, it definitely shows that Hamilton is not resting on his laurels, that, oh, you know, I'll turn up to Australia and I'll stick it on pole. Hamilton knows that there's so much to learn. The new power unit is a major thing that's been discussed in terms of getting the muscle memory up to gear. The way that the car reacts, Hamilton said, was totally different to what he had at Mercedes before. That may be different goods, but it's certainly different gotta learn, basically, and Hamilton will, I'm sure, be putting in some sim time to make that happen. I think Bahrain, to me, that's going to be important, because if Hamilton starts off weak compared to Leclerc, I don't think Hamilton's ever going to be weak, but if he starts off slower than Leclerc at the start of the season, if it's a very competitive championship, there will come a time where Ferrari have to pick Leclerc as their horse in the race over Hamilton. That would be necessary, right? So he needs to be roughly on the pace in the first, you know, by race five, Hamilton needs to be very much on the pace if he wants to, you know, compete for a championship this year on the driver's side. So I think Bahrain's going to be crucial for Hamilton to make sure he gets up to speed as much as he possibly can. And it's true, though, that yesterday and the day before, actually, at Fiorano, it's not like Hamilton was pushing for maximum performance, right? As the article describes, Leclerc, as the home driver, already had the possibility and the willingness from the team to let him push, working on the ride heights, although a pure performance was not required. Hamilton worked fundamentally to gain more confidence and refine the request that he had made. In the end, though, both expressed a positive opinion of the car. So that obviously is a good step. And equally, it's not like Hamilton and Leclerc were doing exactly the same thing on the track at the same time. So the lap time data, you can't compare it apples to apples, but it's still relevant. And we're definitely still going to discuss it here in a second. Obviously, Fiorano, as well as a test center, is not exactly the best. They will wait for Bahrain to get a pretty good understanding. So, yeah, as is described, Leclerc and Hamilton did not have the same kind of activity in the car, but they've set up the aero in the same way with this medium load idea that they want to take, it seems, to Bahrain and see how it goes there. But Hamilton says, yeah, I've got lots to improve on, lots to learn. And this first 200k or 100k or whatever between himself and Leclerc showed that he's got a lot that he needs to think about. And I think Bahrain will be the big opportunity for that because, you know, it's not like he was driving the S25 for long here. And this is, as I say, Leclerc's seventh Ferrari in a relatively similar trajectory. But the big rumor, of course, the big number going around is this 0.8 seconds mark, which has been reported today by Mata, who was suggesting that Hamilton's fastest lap was eight tenths slower than Leclerc's fastest lap in the shakedown. I actually did manage to find the article. It was a bit of a challenge, but I did manage to find it here. And, you know, this was said in the article, Leclerc faster at Fiorano. Leclerc was 0.8 seconds ahead of the Briton with all of the reserves of unofficial times and taking into account that they ran with a special Pirelli tyre. And as we said earlier, likely different run plans to some degree. So interesting. I think obviously it's worth saying, firstly, that this is a Spanish publication. So, you know, let's say from a media perspective, Alonso had his time at Fro, which didn't necessarily go to plan. And Carlos Sainz has just been replaced by Hamilton. So, you know, when you look at the different avenues of the media, there's always going to be something you've got to take into account there, that maybe not in this case, but there's an argument that F1 Marca might try and make the argument that Hamilton's not going to have a great time against Leclerc for those reasons. I think there should be no surprise if Hamilton takes some time to get up to speed in the Fro. There's many, many reasons why that may be the case. I think even Helmut Marko made the point to say that he expects Hamilton to be, you know, a couple of tenths off Leclerc's pace at the start of the season with respect to all these factors. But as I say, if Hamilton wants to compete for a championship this year, he needs to shorten that window. Some people are saying it's going to take Hamilton six months to get up to speed. If he wants to fight for a championship this time, he's got to bring that kind of number down. And look, sure, the delta between the lap times, the eight tenths of a second, it's difficult to say whether that's even true. It's therefore very difficult to say what exactly the track conditions were at those times, whether they were pushing in exactly the same way at the same time, where some of that time was won and lost, and some of these other factors as well. But it would be no surprise if Hamilton was slower than Leclerc a couple of days ago. That would make perfect sense. But as Rosario says, Hamilton had a completely different work program. He's certainly continuing his learning process. And at Fiorano, he didn't yet have his definitive steering wheel. So that's pretty interesting that Hamilton's working on customizing some of the button placements. So basically, the point is, there are more things going on in Hamilton's mind than just driving the car fast a couple of days ago, whereas Leclerc was kind of more able to do so, given the circumstances. We know that back in Barcelona, when they did that SF23 testing, Hamilton was reportedly on the first day two tenths faster than Leclerc, and the next day was 1.7 seconds slower. So was that Hamilton getting washed up overnight? Or, much more likely, was that they were working on very different things? And that may have been the case at Fiorano a couple of days ago as well. So I'm interested in your thoughts in the comment section, but nonetheless interesting, right? Because this is now the talking point, right? Like, Hamilton's joined Ferrari now. He's done the testing. He's slowly getting up to speed. We've seen the car. The question that now arrives is, okay, what's actually going to happen, right? Like, is the car going to be good, is the first question. And we've started to answer that over the last few days. There have been some positive signs. But whatever happens there, what really matters is the man in the cockpit. And with all the song and dance around Hamilton joining, you know, he's got to deliver. And we will see his first performances in some hot laps around Bahrain in just a few days. And then when it's really going to count is when he turns up to Australia and how the car and Hamilton and Leclerc are going to perform then. Because, as I say, would it be a surprise if Hamilton's off the pace slightly? No. Would it be a surprise and would it be a bad sign for Hamilton if he's substantially off the pace? Absolutely. Especially because he says this car's very different to the Mercedes. Of course, Hamilton fans will be hoping that's different plus good. But that's not necessarily going to be the case. So intrude to your thoughts in the comments below. As always, there's things we can take away from this, but there's various things we have to take with a substantial pinch of salt. And this is interesting too. Ferrari have a big upgrade plans. And, well, I'm sure other teams have an upgrade plan package as well that they're designing. But Vasseur says that their first upgrade is going to be pretty critical. It's arguably going to be the biggest one of the entire year. In terms of the importance, if they want to go on to win not just one, but maybe even both championships this year. So very much intrude to your thoughts in the comments. Hit the like button if you enjoyed. Subscribe if you're new. Take care. And I'll see you next time.