Charles Leclerc has said he is looking forward to working with Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari, something he described as an "incredible opportunity".
Hamilton will join the Italian team at the end of the 2024 Formula 1 season, ending an 11-year stay with Mercedes where he has won six of his seven world titles.
The Brit's arrival at Ferrari will be Leclerc's third team-mate in what will be his seventh year with the team, following Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz.
Leclerc is excited about the opportunity to work with the seven-time world champion, and insisted that Ferrari's move to sign Hamilton was not an indication that the Italian team are losing confidence in the 26-year-old.
"For me, it's an incredible opportunity," Leclerc told BBC Sport. "First, to learn from the most successful driver ever. And to prove myself as well against Lewis, who is a benchmark for everybody."
"Not at all, because Ferrari is Ferrari. And they need the best drivers in their cars. So, for the benefit of Ferrari, it is completely understandable.
"For me, I don't see any negative in that, because it's Lewis Hamilton."
Hamilton has history in his sights following his record-extending ninth win at Silverstone ahead of this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.
The 39-year-old is one podium away from becoming the first driver to reach 200 top-three finishes in the competition's history.
Leclerc said he still needs convincing that he is the faster driver compared to his incoming team-mate, saying he sees no weaknesses in Hamilton's driving despite the veteran campaigner having gone two full seasons without a win before his victory at the British Grand Prix.
"Well, I need to be convinced that I am the fastest driver when I put the helmet on, but I am really looking forward to it, and it will be super interesting for me," said Leclerc.
"I have always said you learn from every single team-mate you have over your career. When I look at the way he drives - because we always look at each other and data - you don't really see any weaknesses. And that's where Lewis is incredible. He's only got strengths.
"So I'm really looking forward to seeing how he works with his engineers, the feedback, and all of these kinds of things, to learn and become better."
Leclerc has endured a difficult time in recent races, failing to score points at Silverstone and the Austrian Grand Prix, as many times in his previous 59 finished races, which has seen him slip to third in the Drivers' Championship.
Should Ferrari score 26 points at this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix, they will become the first team in history to reach the 10,000-point barrier in F1.
And despite Leclerc believes a return to the points is forthcoming under the guidance of team principal, Fred Vasseur.
"Fred has two very big strengths which are very important in F1 and especially in a team like Ferrari, where the passion is so high that in very good moments there are lots of emotions but there are also very big emotions whenever we are going through a tough time," said Leclerc.
"In F1, you need to be as flat emotionally as possible and Fred is always a little bit the balance.
"Whenever we have very difficult moments, he helps the team to be back at a reasonable level and not be too disappointed.
"And exactly the same when we win, to not be too high and bring us back down and tell everybody we've got to work because this is only one race."
Norris anticipates eight-car battle for Hungarian pole
Lando Norris believes there will be an eight-car challenge for pole during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday.
The Brit set the pace at practice on Friday, just edging Max Verstappen to the top of the pile as they prepare to continue their rivalry at the top of the drivers' standings.
Carlos Sainz finished third on a day when the action was interrupted following Charles Leclerc's crash, where he spun into the barriers on Turn 4.
Norris, who finished third in the British Grand Prix last time out, is aiming to get his second win of the season and admits it is tough to call who will come out on top in qualifying, especially after Mercedes' recent success.
Asked about his chances of taking pole after practice, Norris said: "From today, pretty reasonable. It was a nice lap. Today, we could get a good amount of it, but tomorrow's another day.
"I think it's close between us, Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull. I feel like we have eight cars here who are going to be fighting for a pole, and even some other cars that looked very quick, like the Haas even.
"A good first day but definitely a little bit more work to do if we want to be a bit more comfortable."
Mercedes have won the last two Grand Prix, with George Russell claiming an unexpected win in Austria before Lewis Hamilton ended a three-year wait for victory with a triumph at Silverstone.
However, Hamilton, who finished seventh in the second practice session behind team-mate George Russell in fifth, was not optimistic about his chances following practice, explaining his car was struggling to cope with the heat in Budapest.
"[It] felt just as bad as it does normally when it's hot," Hamilton said. "Today's not been a good day, really.
"The car hasn't felt good setup-wise, but we think we have an idea why, and we'll just work overnight. It's not the best prep so far.
"[We made] little tweaks [in between sessions] but the car was pretty much the same. There's a particular thing that we left - that we're changing into this weekend - that we probably need to go back on.
"It's all relatively close otherwise. We couldn't do the pace that the other guys did today, but the long run, pace was pretty decent at the end."
Russell seeking Djokovic advice on sporting longevity
George Russell says he has been picking the brains of tennis great Novak Djokovic in a bid to ensure longevity in Formula One.
The Mercedes driver is aiming to reach the pinnacle of his sport and remain there for a sustained period of time, something achieved by 24-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic.
A two-time Grand Prix winner - including in Austria this year - Russell has sought inspiration from the Serbian in recent years, as he looks to follow suit in the F1 World Championship.
And the 26-year-old, who was at Wimbledon for Djokovic's final showdown with Carlos Alcaraz last weekend, gave a brief insight into his learnings.
"We've shared ideas together, and he's been really open with me about things he's trying and what's working for him," Russell said.
"I don't want to share too much because they are private conversations, but I just really like how he's constantly wanting to learn more and that inspires me to learn more about myself, what works for me, what works for them and pushing the boundaries.
"There's a lot that he knows that I won't and vice versa, and you've got to take all these ideas from the best in each profession and see what you can take for yourself.
"I feel fit, healthy and in a great place right now at the age of 26, but I need to make sure that I'm fit, healthy and as motivated in 10 years' time, 15 years' time, who knows 20 years’ time. I'm trying to put in work now."
Russell occupies seventh place in the 2024 drivers' championship standings ahead of this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix, where he finished fifth in the second practice session on Friday.
Lando Norris led the way with an impressive time of 1:17.788 seconds, 0.243 seconds ahead of leader Max Verstappen, with Carlos Sainz taking third on a day where the action was interrupted following Charles Leclerc's earlier crash.
The Ferrari driver spun into the barriers after taking too much kerb at Turn 4, but thankfully was unhurt.
'I don't think it's unfair' - Norris feels British GP criticism justified
Lando Norris acknowledged the criticism aimed at him and McLaren following last weekend's British Grand Prix was justified.
The Briton was leading ahead of the final round of pit stops at Silverstone, and looking on course to close the gap on drivers' championship leader Max Verstappen.
However, eventual winner Lewis Hamilton undercut Norris, who overran his pit box after McLaren were unable to bring him in at an ideal time.
After McLaren opted for soft tyres during the race's climax, Norris was then surpassed by Verstappen, and had to settle for a third-place finish.
While the 24-year-old understands the scrutiny he and the team came under, he feels the most important thing is the way they respond at this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.
"No, not at all, it just depends on how you take it," he told Sky Sports. "I don't think it's unfair because you're always going to have it, that's life.
"People are going to criticise you, people are going to support you, people are going to make mistakes. We're not the only team. There have been times when Red Bull should have won and didn't and Mercedes should have won and didn't.
"At the same time, we didn't blame anyone but ourselves, and it's a tough one because it hurts when you lose your home race, you have a chance to win and those types of things.
"But it's more about how you and we as a team handled it, how we learned from it, we reviewed things, and we come back stronger this weekend and for the future races.
"So, plenty of things to learn, but I'm confident with our team. I think we always accept criticism. Especially when it's constructive, you prefer that way, but you are always going to have people who are supporting and not supporting you.
"How you use that and how you turn it into something positive is the main thing."
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