Lewis Hamilton’s extremely anticipated first season with Ferrari is drawing vital consideration from F1 followers and consultants world wide.
The upcoming Australian Grand Prix marks Hamilton’s third debut on the Melbourne race, following his profitable begins with McLaren and Mercedes. With two wins in Melbourne and a outstanding ten podium finishes on the monitor, Lewis Hamilton is keen to increase his success to Ferrari, hoping for a robust efficiency in his first race with the Scuderia.
Nonetheless, Hamilton enters one of the crucial aggressive seasons in System 1 historical past, going through not solely the problem of adapting to a brand new crew but in addition the extra issue of competing in opposition to rivals who’ve stayed with the identical crew yr after yr. In contrast to his opponents, Lewis Hamilton continues to be within the strategy of integrating with Ferrari, working carefully along with his new race engineer Riccardo Adami to familiarize himself with the crew’s procedures and automobile setup—an adjustment that provides a layer of complexity to his already difficult activity.
His teammate, Charles Leclerc, enters the 2025 season with a slight benefit, as he has a deeper understanding of the Ferrari automobile and its nuances, a key issue that can play a major function of their intra-team rivalry. Leclerc can be eager to show that he’s able to difficult a seven-time world champion like Hamilton, and their dynamic will undoubtedly be one of the crucial thrilling storylines of the season.
Lewis Hamilton’s arrival at Ferrari has made him the point of interest of System 1 forward of the brand new marketing campaign. His standing as one of many sport’s biggest drivers has already sparked quite a few discussions, with pundits providing various predictions. Martin Brundle has boldly speculated on Hamilton’s probabilities for 2025, whereas former world champion Damon Hill has expressed considerations that Hamilton could have misplaced a few of his edge after almost twenty years in System 1.
The most recent former driver to weigh in on the British driver’s Ferrari debut is Japanese F1 star Shinji Nakano. In an unique interview with *as-web.jp*, Nakano shared his insights from pre-season testing, suggesting that Hamilton could face a difficult begin with Ferrari. He famous a number of indicators that the British driver is battling the automobile’s setup and that it would take him longer than anticipated to regulate to the 2025 Ferrari F1 automobile.
Reflecting on the testing in Bahrain, Nakano shared his ideas on Lewis Hamilton’s efficiency throughout the three days within the desert. He famous that of all of the drivers transitioning to new groups, Hamilton was drawing essentially the most consideration. Whereas Hamilton posted the second-fastest time total, simply behind Carlos Sainz, Shinji Nakano noticed that he gave the impression to be battling the Ferrari automobile.
He identified that the SF-25, Ferrari’s new automobile, nonetheless appeared to have the identical barely peaky conduct because the earlier yr’s mannequin. Nakano clarified that he wasn’t positive what sort of testing program Ferrari had deliberate, however primarily based on the automobile’s actions, it appeared clear that the problems with peakiness hadn’t been simply addressed.
Shinji Nakano recommended that changes would doubtless be made, each to the automobile and Lewis Hamilton’s personal driving fashion, as they work to refine the bundle. Nonetheless, he expressed the impression that it might be a difficult begin for Hamilton in his first season with Ferrari.
Ferrari’s Sturdy Report at the Australian Grand Prix: Aiming to Keep Dominance
Shinji Nakano is probably not essentially the most high-profile determine to touch upon Lewis Hamilton’s transfer to Ferrari, however his observations appear to carry some weight. Nakano, who competed in System 1 for simply two seasons, earned factors on two events throughout his debut yr with Prost in 1997. Regardless of being outpaced by teammates Olivier Panis and Jarno Trulli, Nakano’s transient F1 profession was notable for his efficiency in a aggressive discipline. After his time with Prost, Nakano raced with Minardi in 1998 however failed so as to add to his profession tally earlier than transitioning to racing in CART and IndyCar.
Though Nakano’s credentials could not place him among the many sport’s elite, his evaluation of Hamilton’s present scenario at Ferrari seems to have advantage. In line with Nakano, Hamilton has requested a change to his Ferrari automobile—one which hasn’t been seen in over a decade—as a part of his efforts to maximise his probabilities for fulfillment on the Australian Grand Prix. This adjustment displays Hamilton’s need to hit the bottom working in his first season with the Scuderia.
Ferrari’s historic success on the Australian Grand Prix can’t be ignored, because the crew has confirmed to be essentially the most profitable on the iconic Melbourne circuit. Final season, Carlos Sainz additional cemented Ferrari’s dominance by including one other victory to their tally, reinforcing their sturdy place within the race. This yr, nevertheless, will carry new challenges, significantly with Hamilton now driving for Ferrari, a improvement that has garnered appreciable consideration.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari’s established driver, can be keen to start out the season on a excessive notice and forestall Lewis Hamilton from gaining momentum in his first marketing campaign with the crew. Leclerc, who has lengthy been the crew’s lead driver, can be decided to say his dominance and forestall Hamilton from overshadowing him within the early phases of the 2025 System 1 season.
Regardless of Ferrari’s formidable presence, a number of drivers from rival groups can be hoping to spoil Lewis Hamilton’s and Ferrari’s aspirations on the Australian Grand Prix. With a aggressive discipline within the 2025 season, it’s clear that the race at Albert Park can be a vital alternative for drivers exterior the Scuderia to make their mark and kickstart their marketing campaign with a victory. As the joy builds for the upcoming season, the stress can be on Ferrari to proceed their sturdy report at this prestigious occasion whereas navigating the challenges posed by their new driver lineup.