Lewis Hamilton joined Scuderia Ferrari with the expectation that he was stepping right into a group on the verge of ending a 17-year title drought. The group had simply completed a slim 14 factors behind McLaren within the constructors’ standings, a margin that highlighted how shut they have been to the highest. Regardless of the ultimate hole being agonizingly small, Ferrari had been the highest-scoring group within the last 10 races of the 2024 season. This spectacular streak included victories by Charles Leclerc in Italy and the US, in addition to a win by Carlos Sainz in Mexico, signaling a interval of robust efficiency. Consequently, it appeared like the right time for Hamilton to hitch the group. Nevertheless, after 5 races in 2025, Ferrari has dropped to fourth place within the standings.
This case has been a recurring theme for Ferrari since their final championship win in 2008—getting shut, solely to fall quick as soon as once more. Though they’re solely 11 factors behind Purple Bull, a group that appears to function virtually like a one-car unit in fashionable F1, any hopes of a title are rapidly fading. Ferrari’s present efficiency is a stark distinction to the potential they confirmed in 2024, leaving many to query the trail they’ve taken since.
Ferrari’s Choice to Overhaul the F1 Automotive Earlier than Hamilton’s Arrival
At first of the 2025 season, Ferrari’s group principal, Fred Vasseur, acknowledged that the automotive could be “99% new,” with essentially the most important change being a shift from a pull-rod to a push-rod entrance suspension. On reflection, this determination has not paid off. Whereas upgrades should still carry constant podium finishes and occasional victories, it’s more and more unlikely that Ferrari will be capable of surpass McLaren, particularly after a comparatively profitable 2024 marketing campaign. It may very well be argued that solely minor changes would have been needed for the group, however as a substitute, they opted for a drastic change.
Given this, the Bruton, who joined Ferrari with excessive expectations, needs to be questioning why the group deserted the earlier profitable system. Even Charles Leclerc, who has been notably faster, has voiced his frustrations, stating that the automotive is tough to deal with. In line with Laurence Edmondson on the ESPN Unlapped podcast, Charles Leclerc’s remarks following the Saudi Arabian race have been telling. The ESPN F1 reporter talked about that regardless of his efforts to regulate the automotive’s setup to his driving type, together with setting it as much as understeer or oversteer, he nonetheless managed solely a fourth-place qualifying place, which left him pissed off. This case displays a automotive that’s essentially missing in efficiency, significantly in downforce, when in comparison with its rivals.
The Ferrari SF-25’s Struggles and the Comparability to Michael Schumacher’s Mercedes Period
When Hamilton is comfy together with his automotive, he can nonetheless ship world-class performances. This was evident simply final month, when he secured pole place within the Shanghai Dash. He additionally demonstrated his capacity to carry out when Mercedes have been in competition for wins throughout his last season there. Had he been driving the Ferrari of late 2024, it’s attainable that his outcomes would have been nearer to these of Charles Leclerc. Nevertheless, the truth is that Hamilton is struggling to extract efficiency from the SF-25, and this is a matter that mirrors what Michael Schumacher confronted throughout his comeback with Mercedes.
Again then, Mercedes group boss Ross Brawn admitted that the automotive didn’t go well with Michael Schumacher’s driving type, and conversely, Schumacher was not the perfect match for the automotive. This comparability appears to echo Hamilton’s present scenario, as he grapples with the challenges of adapting to the Ferrari SF-25, a automotive that doesn’t appear to unlock its full potential regardless of quite a few efforts. Identical to Michael Schumacher, the seven-time F1 world champion finds himself ready the place he’s not sure learn how to make the automotive carry out to its finest capacity, leaving each the group and its star driver in an unsure place for the remainder of the 2025 Method 1 season.
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