Lewis Hamilton will receive superstar treatment when he completes his switch to Ferrari, it has been claimed.
Hamilton decided in January that he would leave Mercedes at the end of this year. At the age of 40, he will start a new chapter of his Formula 1 career with Ferrari in a bid to secure a long-awaited eighth title before he retires.
But he will not be the only one gunning for glory in Ferrari red. His new team-mate, Charles Leclerc, also has championship ambitions and, if they have a car capable of challenging for that glory, will also expect to be in the fight.
Leclerc signed a long-term deal with Ferrari just weeks before Hamilton's move was announced. And the Monegasque has been the cornerstone of the Italian team's project for many years now, since he was fast-tracked into a seat after just one year in F1 at Sauber.
But the addition of a seven-time F1 champion could cause the team to look to Hamilton as their main man instead. And, speaking on Sky Sports, pundit Craig Slater revealed a conversation with a source within the team which suggests that could be the case.
He said: "I was speaking to one Ferrari insider who said that the team always gathers around the big man, the great champion, like it did [Michael] Schumacher I suppose. Maybe like [Fernando] Alonso."
Speaking to The Red Flags podcast, Formula 1: Drive to Survive star Will Buxton assessed Ferrari's options when it comes to managing their drivers next year. He believes boss Frederic Vasseur will either have to treat them both absolutely equally - or tell Leclerc outright that, though he remains the team's future, he is second-fiddle to Hamilton for now.
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F1 TV host Buxton said: "I think you just have to promise them parity. That they will both have the same car, they will both have the same opportunities, that if upgrades are coming, you either bounce one to one, and then the other one gets the first one next time around, or that they don't bring the upgrade until there's enough for both of them.
"Or, you say to Charles, 'Look, he's a seven-time champion and he's going to come in as number one and you just have to suck this up and use this opportunity to learn from him. This is your team, this will always be your team, you're going to be here for the long term. Lewis is going to be here for two, three seasons'.
"There is absolutely no shadow of a doubt, Lewis is not going there to be the support act for Charles Leclerc's title aspirations. He's going there to win the title. That's it. It really could not be simpler. And as with all of the big teams, if you don't favour one driver over another, then you can start taking points off each other."