Critical Lewis Hamilton Ferrari change grabs attention of F1 ‘nerd’
Oliver Bearman has spotted key changes made by Lewis Hamilton to his first Ferrari F1 car.
Haas F1 rookie Oliver Bearman has revealed he has noticed some key changes Lewis Hamilton has made to his Ferrari steering wheel.
Bearman, a Ferrari young driver who is about to compete in his first full F1 season with Haas, said he has spotted “a few interesting things” that Hamilton has decided to tweak on his new SF-25 car.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton made a blockbuster switch from Mercedes to Ferrari over the winter and the steering wheel was one critical area of focus to help speed up his adaption.
“First of all, Lewis in the Ferrari, that was really cool. And seeing how much he’s changed on the steering wheel, for example, is something that caught my attention,” Bearman is quoted by Motorsport Week.
“On his Mercedes steering wheel, the DRS button on Ferrari, it’s neutral. So, I think he moved a few things around just to save things. But when changing, even me, when I went to Haas, just moving things around compared to what you’re used to is important.
“I can imagine after [more than] 10 years in the same car, you build up some habits.”
Lewis 🤜🤛 SF-25
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 26, 2025
Ride onboard with the seven-time world champ in his first session as a @ScuderiaFerrari driver 👊 #F1Testing #F1 pic.twitter.com/EK8piNq6US
Bearman, who made a one-off cameo for Ferrari last year as a substitute for Carlos Sainz in Saudi Arabia, admitted he is a “nerd” when it comes to noticing such technical details.
“I knew he would change a few things on the steering wheel,” the Briton added.
“It happens every year, and I was more out of interest watching what changes he’s made. Just like myself, I’ve done some changes on the steering wheel at Haas.
“It’s just an interesting thing, and I’m a bit of a nerd on that side of things.”
Lewis Hamilton 13th on Ferrari testing debut
Hamilton made his official F1 pre-season testing bow for Ferrari on Wednesday, driving in the morning session.
The 40-year-old Briton ended the first day of running with the 13th-fastest time. Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, who was behind the wheel of the SF-25 in the afternoon, was fourth-quickest.
Speaking about his acclimatisation at Ferrari last week, Hamilton acknowledged that the steering wheel was one area he has had to adapt to after 12 years at Mercedes.
"It's rare that you jump in, and it just fits," he explained to media including Crash.net. ”For example, the steering was completely different. Everything.
"All the switch settings are completely different. The software is different. Everything. I am adapting to a car that's made quite differently to what I've worked with in the past."
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