Lewis Hamilton joined Scuderia Ferrari with the expectation that he was stepping right into a staff on the verge of ending a 17-year title drought. The staff 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 staff within the closing 10 races of the 2024 season. This spectacular streak included victories by Charles Leclerc in Italy and the USA, 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 staff. Nevertheless, after 5 races in 2025, Ferrari has dropped to fourth place within the standings.
This example has been a recurring theme for Ferrari since their final championship win in 2008—getting shut, solely to fall brief as soon as once more. Though they’re solely 11 factors behind Purple Bull, a staff that appears to function virtually like a one-car unit in trendy 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
Originally of the 2025 season, Ferrari’s staff principal, Fred Vasseur, acknowledged that the automobile could be “99% new,” with essentially the most vital change being a shift from a pull-rod to a push-rod entrance suspension. On reflection, this choice 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 to surpass McLaren, particularly after a comparatively profitable 2024 marketing campaign. It could possibly be argued that solely minor changes would have been needed for the staff, however as an alternative, they opted for a drastic change.
Given this, the Bruton, who joined Ferrari with excessive expectations, ought to be questioning why the staff deserted the earlier profitable method. Even Charles Leclerc, who has been notably faster, has voiced his frustrations, stating that the automobile is tough to deal with. In accordance 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 automobile’s setup to his driving fashion, together with setting it as much as understeer or oversteer, he nonetheless managed solely a fourth-place qualifying place, which left him annoyed. This example displays a automobile 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 along with his automobile, 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 rivalry for wins throughout his closing season there. Had he been driving the Ferrari of late 2024, it’s doable 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 staff boss Ross Brawn admitted that the automobile didn’t go well with Michael Schumacher’s driving fashion, and conversely, Schumacher was not the best match for the automobile. This comparability appears to echo Hamilton’s present scenario, as he grapples with the challenges of adapting to the Ferrari SF-25, a automobile 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 make the automobile carry out to its finest capacity, leaving each the staff and its star driver in an unsure place for the remainder of the 2025 Method 1 season.
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