Seven-time champion Hamilton replaces Sainz at Ferrari, with the Spaniard moving to Williams after four seasons with the Scuderia.

Charles Leclerc believes Hamilton’s championship-winning pedigree will be a benefit to Ferrari, telling RacingNews365 “With how much success Lewis has had, it’s going to be incredibly interesting to hear him and see how he used to work with other very successful teams.

“Whether he was with Mercedes and McLaren before, he won championships with both,” Leclerc added.

For sure, it will pull us upward, help us learn and see different perspectives in our ways of working.”

Ferrari is looking to end its title drought with 17 seasons having passed since Kimi Raikkonen’s success in 2007

Todt was Team Principal at Ferrari from 1993 through 2004 and CEO for four years after that masterminded a turnaround at the Scuderia as Michael Schumacher ended a Drivers’ title drought in 2000 that harked back to Jody Scheckter’s 1979 triumph.

The Frenchman believes that Ferrari is close to tasting such success once again, but isn’t sure whether it’s the team’s drivers that are the key to making that step.

“What is Ferrari missing to win? Little, very little. Even in the past, they came very close,” he told Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

“Even the line-up with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz was a good pairing; they certainly didn’t lose because of the drivers.

“Obviously, even with Hamilton the line-up remains top-level,” he added.

“Will it be better than the previous one? I have no idea, we’ll have to see the level of the car.

True enough, Sainz added two Grand Prix wins to Leclerc’s three in 2024 and the duo combined for 652 points, just 14 behind Constructors’ Champions McLaren despite having a mid-season slump due to poorly optimised upgrades.

But adding Hamilton’s pedigree to Leclerc’s prowess is arguably, on paper the strongest line-up on the F1 grid and could well provide an edge if Ferrari and McLaren are on par in terms of car development