Hamilton wants to "elevate" Ferrari " as high as possible"
Having completed the shakedown run with the Ferrari SF-25, seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton insists that he wants to elevate the Scuderia "as high as possible."
Ferrari have recently unveiled their brand-new F1 car for the 2025 F1 season with which Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton will compete i in the upcoming season.
The car’s name, the SF-25 follows the pattern of the past two years and underlines the stability of the regulations. It is the 71st Formula 1 car built by Ferrari, the fourth of the second generation of ground effect cars introduced in 2022.
However, it is a completely new car, utilising different technical solutions to those adopted in the past. The most visible change initiated by the Loic Serra-led team is without a doubt that made to the front suspension that switches from a pushrod to a pull rod design.
Ferrari noted that the "thinking behind this change in architecture was to clean up the airflow around the car, while also giving greater scope for further aero development, which had pretty much been exhausted with the previous iteration."
Overall, the car is an evolution from every aspect when compared to last year’s, which provided a good starting point.
With the regulations relating to its architecture being frozen since 2022, the Power Unit features no technical innovations. However, the Scuderia noted "the stability of the regulations also meant that the focus moved towards a further optimisation of power unit use strategy in an effort to tailor it to suit every single race weekend situation and extract the maximum potential from its given performance."
Having completed the shakedown run in Fiorano, Lewis Hamilton commented: “I’m getting the biggest buzz every time just putting my kit on.”
“I walk out and there’s the Ferrari sign, and I’m like ‘I’m actually really here’. I’m in this beautiful old building that Enzo had his office in. Each day, I’m reminded that it’s really happening.
"I’m really proud of the shield. And I just want to work as hard as I can with the great people to elevate them and the brand as high as possible.”
“The first week was definitely very emotional,” he says. “Every time we arrive here [at Fiorano, the team’s private test track], you see the crowd, you see everyone in the garage. It’s always emotional.
“I saw John [Elkann, Ferrari chairman] today, we’ve been friends for years. Did we ever know we would be working together? The hope was there. We needed the stars to align and they did finally.
“There’s a lot of love in this team – and passion, and the drive to succeed – there’s no lack of that, that’s for sure," Hamilton concluded.
