Lewis Hamilton must follow strict rule at Ferrari that no other F1 team has including Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton will have to follow a strict rule at Ferrari which could concern the seven-time World Champion.

Hamilton sent shockwaves through the world of Formula 1 on Thursday morning when reports announced that he would be leaving Mercedes after 11 years to sign for Ferrari.

The move was confirmed on Thursday evening, with Hamilton signing a multi-year contract with the Scuderia from the beginning of the 2025 season.

The 39-year-old will replace Carlos Sainz, who will be leaving the team upon the expiry of his contract at the end of the 2024 campaign.

Ferrari is by far the most prestigious team on the grid, so it's no surprise that Hamilton wants to tick it off his bucket list as the 39-year-old approaches the end of his team.

Racing for Ferrari will be a completely different responsibility for Hamilton, and his new team operate under long-standing rules that Hamilton will have to live with.

Other teams on the grid quite openly have a driver hierarchy within the team, for example, Max Verstappen is given priority on strategy for Red Bull and Hamilton himself received similar treatment at Mercedes when teammates with Valtteri Bottas.

At Ferrari however, the team itself is treated as a kind of higher power and must come before any individual, so the notion of having a number-one driver is not considered by the Italian team.

Team Principal Fred Vasseur reiterated this point earlier in the year.

“We showed this season that we have more than equal treatment between the drivers,” Vasseur told media.

“I remember perfectly that one year ago in the same room, I had tons of questions about Charles number one and Carlos number two and 'blah blah blah'.

“It's not that we have a number one that’s a bigger asset. We have two drivers, they are doing a good job," Vasseur stated.

Leclerc and Hamilton- Getty

This could be cause for concern for Hamilton who will have one heck of a job up against Leclerc who demonstrated in 2022 that he can get the better of Max Verstappen when in a competitive car.

Leclerc is also arguably the best qualifier in F1 at the moment, with the Ferrari driver having 24 career poles despite Ferrari rarely having the fastest car on paper.

Hamilton struggled at times over the past two seasons when up against another young gun in George Russell, as the young Brit beat Hamilton in the 2022 season and Leclerc is likely to be a stiffer challenge.