Ferrari detail key 2025 focus that could help address Lewis Hamilton weakness
“So, there’s a lot of work that is going into that and hopefully it will help, but that’s a relative gain.”
Ferrari have revealed that they have put significant work and time into improving their one-lap pace, which could be a welcome boost for Lewis Hamilton in 2025.
Ferrari’s main weakness in 2024 was their qualifying performance as unlike in recent years, their car fared better in race trim.
2024 was the first year since 2017 when they had more race wins than pole positions, backing up this theory.
Charles Leclerc, widely regarded as the fastest driver in F1 qualifying, had a worse average qualifying position than Mercedes’ George Russell, highlighting the difficulties Ferrari had on a Saturday.
Hamilton also struggled for one-lap pace in 2024, out-qualifying Russell at Mercedes on five occasions across the 24-race season.
Ferrari’s technical director (chassis), Loic Serra, has admitted that “a lot of work” has gone into improving their qualifying performance.
“I think the long-run strength of the car, you want to retain and you want to improve,” Serra explained to media, including Crash.net.
“And it is true that if you can get a bit more of the first lap performance, you’ll take it, especially where 30 milliseconds is more or less one position. That 30 milliseconds is not much when you think about the tyres on one lap, it can give you way more than that.
“So, there’s a lot of work that is going into that and hopefully it will help, but that’s a relative gain. It will also depend on what the other teams do.”
Ferrari’s busy winter following Hamilton arrival
It’s been a busy month for Ferrari following Hamilton’s arrival.
Hamilton’s first appearance at Maranello dominated social media, with a photograph of the seven-time world champion breaking records for the most likes on Instagram.
Soon after, Hamilton tested the SF-23 for the first time at Fiorano, preparing him for two more outings in Barcelona.
Last week, Hamilton and Leclerc conducted a shakedown in the SF-25 - Ferrari’s 2025 car - ahead of F1 testing on Wednesday.
Ferrari narrowly missed out on the constructors’ title last year, finishing 14 points behind McLaren.
They will be hoping Hamilton’s arrival signifies a return to title glory as their drought stretches back to 2008.
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