TV pundits have raised concerns Lewis Hamilton may see a repeat his challenging 2024 season as he prepares for his debut with Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton’s highly anticipated debut with Ferrari is less than a week away, but observers of pre-season testing suggest all is not well.
Hamilton has enjoyed a honeymoon period as he begins integrating himself into Maranello, stating his excitement for the season ahead.
New team-mate Charles Leclerc is more skeptical of the performance of the SF-25, urging caution ahead of Melbourne.
This is a sentiment shared by two key figures in Bahrain who observed the car’s handling while on track.
Former F1 Technical Director Gary Anderson is one of those raising concerns over the driveability of Ferrari’s new challenger.
Hamilton has struggled to adapt to the ground-effect cars since their introduction in 2022, Anderson believing Hamilton could be in for another tough season.
New Ferrari Not ‘as driver friendly’ as expected for Lewis Hamilton
In his Daily Telegraph column, Anderson said that whilst Ferrari have given Hamilton a substantial upgrade over last year’s Mercedes, fundamental handing issues remain.
“From 2022-2024 he struggled to varying degrees with an unpredictable Mercedes, and last year was the low point.
“Although he won two races it was comfortably – or should that be uncomfortably – the worst season of his career.
“It is still early days, but on first impressions it does not look as though the new Ferrari is a great upgrade on last year’s Mercedes W15.
“From the early running the SF-25 does not appear to be as driver friendly as I would expect.
“Hamilton likes a benign car from which he can extract the most from his talent and minimise lap time. It did not look that benign [in testing].
“When Hamilton drove the car it was hitting the ground quite hard and bouncing and this probably caused him to have a few minor off-track moments.
“There will always be uncertainty at this early stage of the season, yet when you see Hamilton making mistakes or running wide you can say for certain that the car is not giving him the feedback he wants.
“In short, I am not sure if he has a package – yet – better suited to him than the problematic car he drove in 2024.
“It is early days, though, and that may well come with some set-up experiments and when team-mate Charles Leclerc, who knows more how the Ferrari should feel, gets more into it.”
Drivers voice concerns
Alex Brundle, son of TV broadcaster Martin Brundle criticised the SF-25’s handling whilst watching the car trackside.
Highlighting the understeer he witnessed Brundle labelled the “really really nasty”, believing Ferrari was trying different programmes.
“That Ferrari looks really difficult to drive this afternoon. I was watching it a little earlier on.
“Exit at Turn 4, entry at Turn 11, way wide. Through the mid corner of Turn 13 as well.
“Anywhere where it’s got its tail to the wind, Hamilton is really struggling to get it into the apex.
“This is going to be a better lap for him, but it doesn’t look happy. Big understeer through the mid corner [but] it’s probably one of the better corners of [Hamilton’s] lap.
“It looks really, really nasty behind the [wheel], whatever they’ve done to that Ferrari for Hamilton, whatever they’re testing.
“Of course, you take avenues that don’t always work, but that isn’t friendly.”
