Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton’s touching moment in the paddock after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

The chequered flag flew on Tuesday evening to bring the Formula 1 post-season testing day in Abu Dhabi to close and officially start the countdown to the 2025 campaign.

Although F1’s ruleset isn’t drastically changing until 2026, there are plenty of new storylines to look forward to when the paddock descends on Bahrain for pre-season testing on 26 February next year.

More than half of the teams on the grid will be running at least one new driver in 2025, with one manufacturer in particular drawing more attention than their rivals.

Ferrari have managed to recruit the sport’s most successful driver and Lewis Hamilton will race for only the third different team as he enters his 18th campaign in Formula 1.

The seven-time world champion has had some very tricky teammates in his time, with Hamilton and Alonso clashing in 2007 during his debut season with McLaren.

He’s been beaten by Nico Rosberg, jostled with Jenson Button, achieved greatness alongside Valtteri Bottas and guided George Russell to take over his position as Mercedes’ team leader from next year.

Charles Leclerc offers a very different challenge to Hamilton as one of the most successful homegrown drivers of the modern era within the Ferrari ranks.

Leclerc thinks there’s a ‘very special’ difference between Hamilton and Carlos Sainz and th pair were spotted together after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc greets Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

A report from the Italian publication Gazzetta has provided more information about how the final weekend of the season ended within the Scuderia’s ranks.

It was important for Ferrari to give Sainz the perfect send off after his efforts for the team over the past four seasons.

The Spaniard was shown a farewell video that brought him to tears, before some of the staff at the race serenaded him with the song Sara Perche Ti Amo, synonymous with AC Milan and translates to ‘It must be because I love you’.

Leclerc dedicated his race helmet to Sainz, but admitted across the race weekend that he ‘can’t wait to race alongside him’.

Hamilton was spotted in the paddock embracing Leclerc after the race, although it was pointed out by Gazzetta that it was ‘an embrace made of melancholy’ after what was a weekend where Ferrari just fell short.

They couldn’t overturn the deficit to McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship and Leclerc was impacted by a grid penalty that made his third place finish even more impressive.

Lewis Hamilton seen entering the Ferrari garage after sending a message with his Abu Dhabi outfits

Hamilton has always taken his fashion seriously and while some drivers – such as Leclerc – prefer to stick to team apparel when entering the paddock, the Brit is rarely seen in Mercedes merchandise unless he’s required to wear it.

He transitioned from an all-white outfit after of practice on Friday to wearing red on Sunday, with some fans questioning Hamilton’s choice of clothing before he had officially signed off from Mercedes duties.

After the race, according to Formula Passion, Hamilton was then spotted entering the Ferrari garage.

While it’s unclear what he was doing while he there and how long he spent with his future team, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he’s already making introductions and trying to integrate himself within the team ahead of the biggest change he’s ever likely to experience in F1.