Charles Leclerc highlighted the influence Lewis Hamilton had on FERRARI.
This was a disappointing campaign for Ferrari in 2025.
Ferrari will sit fourth in the F1 Constructors Championship, 110 points behind McLaren.
They were unable to meet pre-season expectations with one podium finish in the opening five races.
Hamilton, who switched from Mercedes in the F1 2025, is struggling to get closer to Leclair.
The most compelling weekend from Hamilton was Shanghai, where he dominated the sprint race from pole position.
However, since then, Hamilton has struggled, finishing more than 30 seconds behind Leclerc at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
I will be speaking in Miami on Thursday. Here, crash.net is in the paddock.
Leclerc supported Hamilton to turn things around and talked about the valuable contributions the seven-time world champion has already made.
“I think it’s always very tricky to join a new team and join a new team working on a new system with a new car.
“To be honest, on my part, I’m completely focused on myself and trying to get the most out of the car. That’s already quite a job. I’m sure Lewis will get there. He has a really big victory in China.
“It’s great to have him on the team and challenge the way we’ve done things over the years.
“And again, give us a fresh look at how we approach different things. So we learned a lot from him.”
Can Ferrari save the season in Miami?
Ferrari hopes that the alternative format will return this weekend, allowing them to replicate the pace they showed in the Chinese sprint race.
The theory behind Ferrari’s revival in the Shanghai Sprint was that the cars would lower the car to the ground and thus produce more downforce due to lower fuel levels.
However, Leclerc opposed this theory.
“I don’t think China’s very good performance, especially in sprint races, has much to do with fuel load,” explained Leclerc. “I think sprint races are always a chance because there is only one session right foot in the right window of the car, so I think.
“There’s a chance we’ll make the wrong choice, but this can have great results. Lewis approached Chinaquari and sprint races with the perfect window, and when others struggled a little more and already struggled since Saturday night, we struggled with our normal qualifications.
“I did a lot of work with the simulator to be in the right window right away by focusing on myself. That’s the goal of all teams, but if I can do it better than the other teams, I have an opportunity to replicate what happened in China more than on a regular race weekend.