The environment was charged with emotion when the chequered flag fell on the season finale in Abu Dhabi on the Yas Marina circuit, with each Ferrari and Mercedes groups experiencing a variety of emotions because the 2024 marketing campaign drew to an in depth.
Lewis Hamilton had simply secured a formidable fourth-place end in what could be his remaining race in a Mercedes Formulation 1 automotive. As he crossed the road, Martin Brundle famous Lewis Hamilton’s memorable final-lap overtake on George Russell, a becoming conclusion to their three-year partnership, with Hamilton leaving because the group’s highest factors scorer. In the meantime, Ferrari had a triumphant remaining outing of the season, with each Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz securing podium finishes.
Regardless of Oscar Piastri’s early spin, McLaren clinched the Constructors’ Championship with Lando Norris’ well-deserved victory, which denied Ferrari their long-awaited first title in 16 years.
Nonetheless, Lewis Hamilton would have been buoyed by the spectacular efficiency of his future group, Ferrari, over the ultimate months of the season.
Charles Leclerc triumphed within the Italian Grand Prix, holding off McLaren’s tempo benefit, whereas Carlos Sainz’s victory in Mexico Metropolis was arguably essentially the most dominant show of his Formulation 1 profession. In keeping with a report from Italian every day newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, preparations for the 2025 season are already underway at Maranello, and Ferrari might have already perfected one essential facet of subsequent 12 months’s automotive that Hamilton will significantly recognize.
Forward of the 2025 season, Ferrari has reportedly perfected the ground of the automotive, a function that shall be essential to Hamilton’s success.
With solely minimal modifications to the rules governing the automotive designs from 2024 to 2025, Ferrari’s focus for subsequent 12 months is extra on evolution than revolution. Workforce principal Frederic Vasseur has confirmed that fewer than one % of the 2025 automotive’s elements shall be carried over from their 2024 challenger, signaling a refined strategy to creating the brand new automotive.
Fred Vasseur talked about in a current interview that the true competitiveness of the automotive would solely be revealed in Bahrain. The French supervisor acknowledged that typically the dangers taken are solely obvious after the actual fact. He additional defined that the automotive could be utterly new, with lower than 1 % of its components shared with the 2024 mannequin. He emphasised that whereas it was a distinct undertaking, this strategy utilized to all groups.
In keeping with the report from Gazzetta dello Sport, Ferrari’s 2025 single-seater is predicted to function an advanced model of the experimental ground utilized by Charles Leclerc in Qatar. The outlet means that Ferrari’s engineers have efficiently refined this part, anticipating its integration right into a extra dynamic platform that shall be much more seamlessly included into the group’s newest aerodynamic idea.
Over the previous 12 months, it has turn out to be more and more clear that attaining the best steadiness within the automotive is essential, versus merely maximizing downforce. This understanding is significant for Ferrari as they goal to enhance upon their present design.
If the group can preserve the robust efficiency momentum they demonstrated on the finish of the 2024 season, there’s each purpose to imagine that each Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc shall be among the many prime contenders for the championship in 2025.
The significance of studying from previous errors, notably with regard to mid-season updates, was clearly evident all through the 2024 season. The prolonged size of the Formulation 1 calendar supplies groups with ample time and, crucially, a wealth of information to tell their choices concerning automotive growth.
Whereas groups like Aston Martin and Purple Bull launched updates that finally hindered their progress, McLaren stands out as a primary instance of a group that acquired it proper. Workforce principal Andrea Stella made the sensible choice to delay the set up of McLaren’s new ground, cautious of its potential impression on the efficiency of different groups.
Ferrari, then again, launched a major replace in Spain that set them again for a number of races, with many arguing that this specific bundle price them the title. To keep away from repeating such errors in 2025, Ferrari might want to guarantee they make the best calls, which might give Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc a real alternative to problem McLaren and Max Verstappen’s dominance.