Scuderia Ferrari’s two-day testing session on the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona with its principal drivers has concluded. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc accomplished many of the deliberate program collectively. The British driver had his first session on Tuesday afternoon, at all times driving the SF-23 single-seater. He continued the coaching he had began in Fiorano throughout his first run of the season, delving deeper into testing: braking, nook entry, and learning the ability unit controls. Within the morning, Charles Leclerc had been on observe, focusing extra on knowledge assortment. On Wednesday, nevertheless, Lewis Hamilton alone accomplished a number of runs.
He continued till late morning when he went off the observe and crashed into the limitations. It appeared that the Monegasque driver might nonetheless use his afternoon slot, as Ferrari’s mechanics believed they may restore the automobile. Nevertheless, the mandatory repairs ended up taking longer than anticipated, significantly in regards to the entrance suspension system. Lewis Hamilton apparently misplaced the rear of the automobile in Flip 14 at over 200 kilometers per hour after a snap on the entrance. The previous Mercedes driver couldn’t regain management, and automobile quantity 44 headed straight into the limitations.
As we all know, there have been no points for the seven-time F1 world champion. Fortuitously unharmed, he was visibly disenchanted by the incident. The brand new Ferrari driver was unable to finish his work, however extra importantly, the crash prevented his Maranello teammate from finishing the ultimate deliberate stint within the Ferrari. The mechanics did every part doable. Nevertheless, given the poor visibility with the solar step by step setting, Ferrari determined to desert the session. Leclerc was left with out observe time. No massive deal, although a bit of extra knowledge would have been helpful.
How ought to Ferrari’s exams be assessed? What conclusions will be drawn? Many have puzzled why Ferrari did a lot operating whereas different groups didn’t. Nevertheless, the Maranello group did nothing irregular. It merely took benefit of the FIA’s rules on Testing of Earlier Vehicles programmes, which permit any group to cowl as much as 1,000 km in the course of the season utilizing an older automobile with particular Pirelli-designed tires for these exams. The software program can also be regulated, and principal drivers can not exceed 4 days of testing.
These are the principles to comply with. Ferrari aimed to make use of this FIA allowance instantly for a few causes. The primary, fairly apparent, was to speed up Lewis Hamilton’s studying curve with the Ferrari. The Briton wanted expertise—attending to know the group members higher, understanding the working methodology, and gaining technical apply with the automobile. The braking system and energy unit, in actual fact, are two parts he’ll discover on the SF-25 single-seater, which shall be formally revealed in a bit of greater than two weeks. The identical goes for sure dealing with methods examined with the SF-23.
We mentioned it yesterday. Along with trail-braking, a way utilized by all drivers, even in junior classes, Lewis Hamilton studied the “trailing throttle.” This transfer additional stabilizes the automobile by conserving a small share of throttle open throughout braking. It’s a way through which Charles Leclerc is an skilled. Taking a look at onboard footage from the highest groups in 2024 and analyzing telemetry, solely the Monegasque driver used it in qualifying. It’s a removed from easy maneuver to implement, and the Briton wished to apply it.
And what about Lewis Hamilton’s suggestions? What did he inform the group after these two days on observe? The British driver is a real skilled, that means he leaves nothing to probability. For that reason, regardless of being very glad along with his strategy to the Italian group, he has already advised a number of operational changes to streamline work on observe. Furthermore, whereas particulars are unknown, he has requested varied setup modifications on the brand new automobile. Let’s not neglect that the Englishman comes from Mercedes, a group that, in its golden years, demonstrated an distinctive stage of operational precision.
A group able to maximizing each process, by no means complacent, and at all times pushing for steady enchancment. Lewis Hamilton brings a wealth of expertise on this regard. In keeping with varied well-trusted Italian information media retailers, Ferrari has welcomed his recommendation on optimizing work processes and timing with enthusiasm. This was, in spite of everything, what they anticipated from him. As for technical modifications to the brand new automobile, possible associated to the controls of the SF-25, it appears Lewis Hamilton could have his requests fulfilled within the coming weeks.
The ultimate suggestions considerations his relationship with Riccardo Adami, his race engineer. We printed a devoted article a number of months in the past, anticipating their future collaboration, which was later confirmed with extra particulars in early January. And certainly, it appears that evidently the chemistry between Ricky and Lewis is superb—really, excellent. Each share an “obsessive” work ethic, which they may put into apply all through the 2025 Formulation 1 season. The objective? Properly… to struggle on the high and erase that irritating zero within the championship titles column that Ferrari has carried since 2008.
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