Charles Leclerc pinpoints one area where Lewis Hamilton is better than Sebastian Vettel

Charles Leclerc feels Lewis Hamilton’s ability to brake later is better than any of his past teammates, including Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz. The Monagasque driver has been the leading Ferrari man for a while now, and during this entire time he has been teamed up with some very impressive talents.

First, it was Sebastian Vettel with whom Charles Leclerc teamed up in 2019 and 2020. The 4x F1 champion was replaced by Carlos Sainz, who was part of the team from 2021 to 2024. And now, the driver is competing with Lewis Hamilton as his teammate at Ferrari.

The young driver has consistently performed at a top level and holds a strong track record against many of his peers. Right now, Charles Leclerc is seen as one of the best in Formula 1—and the fact that he’s maintained that level while being teammates with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton makes it even more impressive.

In a recent interview, Leclerc was asked what’s surprised him the most. He admitted that Hamilton’s braking ability stood out. Leclerc explained that he’s always been known for braking late—often later than his previous teammates. But when it comes to Hamilton, he’s found that’s no longer true.

“I expected many, many things from Lewis. Obviously joining the team and having so much success in F1, you kind of expect to see the speed, the special things, in terms of driving. So all these kind of things were expected.”

He added,

“I still got surprised with the way he brakes, by example. I think how late he brakes is very impressive. In my career, I’ve always been the one braking later than my team-mates and that is a particular driving style I didn’t really see in any of my team-mates. I think Lewis is a step ahead, even more so in that direction. So that surprised me.”

Lewis Hamilton’s discipline surprises Charles Leclerc.

Other than the driving style, Charles Leclerc revealed that Lewis Hamilton’s discipline and how he manages different things are what surprised him as well. The 7x champion often has multiple engagements that he has to take care of, and how he seamlessly manages all of it has caught the eye of the young driver. He said,

“But then for the rest, I think the rest is what surprised me the most, and it’s things that I did not expect. His discipline is very, very impressive. From outside, I obviously remember I was seeing him managing so many different things, and I was like, ‘This has to be hard.’”

He added,

“But once you see how everything around him is so well-structured, it makes sense—he’s completely focused on racing. All his other projects are managed so efficiently that he doesn’t need to be involved in them every day.”

Still, Lewis Hamilton will be aiming to get more out of the car this season and close the performance gap to Leclerc.