Lewis Hamilton is simply over every week away from making his much-anticipated Grand Prix debut with Ferrari. The British driver has been laborious at work, making ready extensively for the 2025 season as he transitions into a brand new chapter of his profession with the Scuderia.
Ferrari has facilitated Hamilton’s integration into the workforce by offering him with 4 personal take a look at classes of their F1 equipment, the most recent of which was within the SF-25 at Fiorano, only a day after the automotive’s livery was revealed on the F1 75 launch occasion. Hamilton additionally spent three days behind the wheel of the SF-25 throughout the pre-season testing on the Bahrain Worldwide Circuit. Though the seven-time world champion didn’t encounter any main points with the automotive, the take a look at didn’t go as easily as he might need hoped.
Surprisingly, the 40-year-old accomplished solely 162 laps throughout the three-day testing session, a tally decrease than that of three different drivers: Max Verstappen, Liam Lawson, and Lance Stroll. Regardless of this, there have been a number of promising indicators from each Hamilton and the SF-25, because the Brit completed on the high of the timesheets on the halfway level of the take a look at. His lap time of 1:29.379 was sooner than the most effective time set by Carlos Sainz in 2024, signaling a transparent step ahead for the Maranello workforce.
Lewis Hamilton enters the 2025 Method 1 marketing campaign with renewed vigor, aiming to seize his eighth drivers’ title with Ferrari. Nonetheless, regardless of the encouraging efficiency in testing, there stays one vital ‘unanswered query’ concerning the SF-25 because the workforce heads into the season opener on the Australian Grand Prix.
Ferrari’s SF-25 and the ‘Unanswered Query’ of Tyre Administration for the 2025 Season
As talked about earlier, Ferrari organized 4 personal take a look at classes for the Briton earlier than the official pre-season testing, together with his outing in Bahrain. Nonetheless, the workforce had not but offered him along with his ‘definitive’ 2025 steering wheel, which meant Hamilton needed to modify to a brand new setup as soon as once more.
One of many main areas Ferrari has centered on throughout these assessments is tyre administration, an important facet of Method 1 racing. Hamilton struggled with this at Mercedes throughout the ground-effect period, particularly with excessive degradation, which contributed to his lowest profession end of seventh place within the 2024 season. Tyre administration has been recognized as an ongoing problem with the SF-25, and in response to journalist Craig Scarborough on the Inside Line F1 Podcast, it stays an ‘unanswered query’ for Ferrari’s 2025 automotive. It’s nonetheless unclear whether or not the SF-25 will have the ability to handle its tyres successfully underneath various monitor situations, and the reply will solely come as soon as the automotive is examined in a race setting.
As Ferrari prepares for the season forward, this significant facet of the automotive’s efficiency might be underneath shut scrutiny as Hamilton and his workforce look to deal with one of many largest challenges in trendy F1 racing: managing tire put on and degradation throughout totally different circuits and situations. The journalist acknowledged that the true unanswered query concerning the Ferrari automotive is the way it will handle tires throughout a race. They famous that Ferrari had some ups and downs with tire administration final yr, however completed the season on a robust notice. Regardless of a mid-season dip, they emphasised that the true take a look at would come when the automotive faces quite a lot of monitor situations. In response to the journalist, it’s only after the workforce encounters cold and warm temperatures, front-limited and rear-limited tracks, and each quick and slow-speed circuits that they may start to get clearer solutions concerning the automotive’s tire administration capabilities.
Lewis Hamilton was noticed adopting a ‘dynamite’ driving approach from his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc throughout the Bahrain pre-season testing. As Hamilton prepares for the 2025 Method 1 season, he goals to make sure his Ferrari automotive is each aggressive and able to securing a championship. Nonetheless, the seven-time world champion is dealing with stiff competitors, with Ferrari’s rivals showcasing promising developments throughout the take a look at classes in Bahrain.
There are rumors circulating within the paddock that Mercedes might have surpassed Ferrari by way of automotive growth. This is able to be a irritating flip of occasions for Hamilton, who lately left the Silver Arrows after years of grappling with an inconsistent automotive.
Considered one of Hamilton’s key challenges this season might be competing in opposition to his teammate, Charles Leclerc, who’s famend for his distinctive one-lap tempo. In Bahrain, Hamilton was seen adopting a driving approach generally related to Leclerc—particularly, the usage of throttle and brake overlap, which entails carrying additional engine energy into corners for faster entry. This technique has confirmed to be extremely efficient for Leclerc throughout qualifying and will serve Hamilton effectively in 2025, assuming the SF-25 is able to dealing with the additional energy effectively.
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