Mercedes chief makes Lewis Hamilton admission Charles Leclerc will need to be wary of
Lewis Hamilton will team up with Charles Leclerc from next season
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Mercedes technical director James Allison has admitted that there is a certain level of 'drama' that comes with having Lewis Hamilton as a teammate in a subtle warning to Charles Leclerc.
The world of F1 was shocked before the 2024 season got underway when it was announced that Hamilton had an agreement in place to end his Mercedes contract early and depart for Ferrari next year.
It's a move that is akin to Hamilton's departure from McLaren to join Mercedes in 2013 with the sport entering a new era.
Leclerc is set to become the seventh team-mate Hamilton has had in his illustrious F1 career.
Lewis Hamilton will team up with Charles Leclerc from next season
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The Monegasque driver has held down the top position at Ferrari for several years now, but Hamilton comes in as a direct rival to the 26-year-old.
Despite being 39 years of age, Hamilton is still regarded as one of the best drivers on the grid.
Allison admits Mercedes will miss having someone of Hamilton's calibre in their garage from next year.
And he even admits that they will also miss the 'drama' that comes with Hamilton as a teammate.
When asked on Beyond The Grid podcast what he will miss when Hamilton leaves for Ferrari, Allison said: "The days where he would just produce total magic that would make you go, 'oh my goodness'.
"Putting a car on the road with such precision that just left all the other drivers around and with no option but to sort of surrender to what Lewis was doing on the road.
"The ability to make a tyre last and last and last. Even while telling Bono [Peter Bonington, Hamilton's long-time race engineer] it wouldn't.
"The drama that goes along with having him as a teammate, but just the delivery of brilliant, brilliant performances.
Lewis Hamilton hasn't always gotten along with his team-mates
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"I've said before, I think he's the best racing car driver there's ever been."
Hamilton has not been afraid to rub shoulders with his team-mates in the past and famously clashed with both Fernando Alonso and Nico Rosberg previously.
His partnership with Alonso at McLaren in his debut season lasted just one season before the Spaniard left.
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Lewis Hamilton has enjoyed an amicable working relationship with George Russell
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Hamilton's spiky relationship with Rosberg was more publicised as the pair were previously good friends before teaming up at Mercedes.
He appeared to soften his touch with Valtteri Bottas, who replaced Rosberg at Mercedes for five years before Russell joined in 2022.
The two British drivers appear to have a good working relationship with Hamilton regularly praising his younger team-mate.