Pleasure is constructing round Lewis Hamilton’s extremely anticipated swap to Ferrari for the 2025 season, particularly after hundreds of passionate followers gathered on the Fiorano circuit to witness his first-ever check in one of many Maranello workforce’s vehicles.
Lewis Hamilton’s pursuit of a record-breaking eighth world championship will now happen with one in every of Formulation 1’s most iconic and adorned groups. His shock choice to depart Mercedes—activating a break clause in his contract—despatched waves by means of the paddock final yr. Having secured 5 of his seven titles with the Silver Arrows between 2014 and 2020, Hamilton is keen to increase his already formidable profession statistics, which embody 105 Grand Prix victories, 202 podium finishes, and 104 pole positions.
Nevertheless, the British driver has confronted vital challenges because the introduction of ground-effect laws and 18-inch wheels, managing solely two race wins over the previous three seasons. Former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone stays skeptical about Hamilton’s long-term prospects at Ferrari, suggesting that the complexities of Maranello’s inner politics could show too nice an impediment for him.
With the 2025 Formulation 1 season set to kick off in Melbourne, Lewis Hamilton will likely be decided to make a right away affect. Nevertheless, legendary Le Mans champion Tom Kristensen has issued a warning about one explicit behavior he hopes the seven-time champion will depart behind when he joins Ferrari—a degree he emphasised on the RacingNews365 podcast.
Tom Kristensen hopes Hamilton will keep away from making excuses at Ferrari
Throughout his remaining years at Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton was typically vocal in regards to the workforce’s struggles, steadily expressing frustration over surprising dealing with points—significantly following qualifying periods, the place automotive steadiness inconsistencies have been a recurring criticism.
Tom Kristensen believes Ferrari’s late-season competitiveness in 2024 has laid the muse for a robust marketing campaign in 2025. In consequence, he hopes Lewis Hamilton will undertake a extra constructive strategy and keep away from dwelling an excessive amount of on setbacks as he embarks on this new chapter with the Scuderia.
Tom Kristensen expressed his hope that Lewis Hamilton would keep away from inconsistency, keep away from troublesome qualifying positions, and never discover himself repeatedly having to elucidate poor performances in entrance of the cameras. He added that witnessing these struggles had turn out to be troublesome and recommended that the transfer to Ferrari was in the end a constructive change for each Hamilton and Mercedes.
What If Ferrari Fails to Ship in 2025?
Ferrari’s efficiency over the previous few seasons has been unpredictable, swinging between moments of brilliance and irritating shortcomings. After struggling by means of troublesome campaigns in 2020 and 2021, the workforce managed to recuperate however has constantly fallen simply wanting producing a championship-winning automotive.
A turning level appeared to return final yr when Ferrari launched essential upgrades to the SF-24 at Monza. The modifications had a right away affect, permitting Charles Leclerc to dominate their residence Grand Prix with a convincing victory earlier than mounting a robust problem for the win in Azerbaijan.
Charles Leclerc delivered one other commanding efficiency in Austin, whereas Carlos Sainz added to Ferrari’s success with a victory in Mexico. The battle with McLaren within the Constructors’ Championship was fiercely contested, with McLaren narrowly edging out Ferrari by simply 14 factors.
Nevertheless, if Ferrari fails to be aggressive in 2025 and proves incapable of often combating for victories, it may increase critical questions on Hamilton’s long-term dedication. In such a state of affairs, the seven-time world champion would possibly take into account chopping his tenure quick and departing the workforce after only one season.