Following the final race in Abu Dhabi, teams have shifted their focus to the 2025 anniversary season. Formula 1 is just a few months away from the season start in Melbourne. Ferrari is also putting the finishing touches on their challenger for the new year. The Italians are opting for a radical revision of the current car, as revealed by Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur.
In 2025, Ferrari will compete with a new line-up; regular driver Charles Leclerc will be joined by none other than seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. Expectations are high. Not only because of Hamilton’s arrival, but also due to Ferrari’s strong performance in the past season. The SF-24 managed to win as many as five Grand Prix. In the end, the Scuderia fell short of the constructors’ title by just fourteen points.
The contrast with 2023, when Ferrari won only one Grand Prix, could hardly be greater. Team boss Fred Vasseur hopes to continue the positive trend in the anniversary season and is aiming for success with a completely renewed car. Although the regulations remain largely unchanged, Ferrari has opted for a car that is ’99 percent’ new.
Adjustments for Hamilton?
“We won’t know if the car is competitive until Bahrain,” Vasseur said during a Ferrari end-of-year dinner. The Frenchman has high expectations for the new car, although he acknowledges that a radical design also carries risks. “Sometimes you only realize the risks you’ve taken in hindsight,” he explained. “The car will be completely new – less than 1 percent of the parts come from the SF-24. It’s a completely different project, but of course, that applies to all teams.Experts speculate that Ferrari will partially modify the car to suit Lewis Hamilton‘s preferences. Allegedly, this includes the positioning of the cockpit and the transition from pull-rod to push-rod suspension. “We can’t say that 2025 will be our year, but I have confidence in the project we’re working on,” concluded Vasseur. “However, it remains a huge challenge. We certainly need to take an extra step, especially in terms of consistency.”
The SF-24 brought Ferrari five victories – the last time Scuderia won five races in a single season was in 2018.
