Lewis Hamilton says new Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc should not be expected to be immediately at the level of his team mate Sebastian Vettel.

Asked whether Leclerc can rival Vettel in his first season at Ferrari, Hamilton said: “Time will tell. I think it would be unfair to put that kind of expectation on his shoulders.

“It’s only his second year. He’s young, he’s going to make mistakes. He’s obviously very quick, very talented and hopefully, most likely, he’s gonna surprise many people.

“But you’re talking about a veteran out there now who’s a four-time world champion. There’s no substitute for experience. So it will interesting to see how those two parallels work together.”

However Hamilton, 34, said the 21-year-old Leclerc will have the advantage of youth.

“The great thing with a youngster is that you’re energised beyond belief and determined and you have more energy than the oldest do. I’ve been in that same position at McLaren.”

Asked about his own team mate, Hamilton predicted Valtteri Bottas will be more aggressive in his approach following his win-less 2018 campaign.

“I’m not someone that generally has expectations of anything but I would assume he’s going to try and be more aggressive this year. I’m sure he’s going to be pushing harder. I’m sure he’s pushing harder in his training. He’s always been incredibly determined since the day he got here And that’s not wavered. I’m sure he knows where he needs to put his focuses to.

“Him with his guys on the other side, I [only] see the top of his head on the screen so I don’t really know about the difference in his approach but I’ll see that once we get into the race season.”

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2019 F1 season