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 spread of emotions because the 2024 marketing campaign drew to an in depth.
Lewis Hamilton had simply secured a formidable fourth-place end in what can be his remaining race in a Mercedes Components 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 staff’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.
Nevertheless, Lewis Hamilton would have been buoyed by the spectacular efficiency of his future staff, 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 Components 1 profession. In line with a report from Italian day by day newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, preparations for the 2025 season are already underway at Maranello, and Ferrari could have already perfected one essential side of subsequent 12 months’s automotive that Hamilton will enormously recognize.
Forward of the 2025 season, Ferrari has reportedly perfected the ground of the automotive, a characteristic that might 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. Crew principal Frederic Vasseur has confirmed that fewer than one p.c of the 2025 automotive’s elements might be carried over from their 2024 challenger, signaling a refined strategy to growing the brand new automotive.
Fred Vasseur talked about in a latest interview that the true competitiveness of the automotive would solely be revealed in Bahrain. The French supervisor acknowledged that generally the dangers taken are solely obvious after the very fact. He additional defined that the automotive can be fully new, with lower than 1 p.c of its components shared with the 2024 mannequin. He emphasised that whereas it was a special undertaking, this strategy utilized to all groups.
In line with the report from Gazzetta dello Sport, Ferrari’s 2025 single-seater is anticipated to characteristic an advanced model of the experimental flooring utilized by Charles Leclerc in Qatar. The outlet means that Ferrari’s engineers have efficiently refined this element, anticipating its integration right into a extra dynamic platform that might be much more seamlessly integrated into the staff’s newest aerodynamic idea.
Over the previous 12 months, it has grow to be more and more clear that attaining the appropriate stability within the automotive is essential, versus merely maximizing downforce. This understanding is important for Ferrari as they purpose to enhance upon their present design.
If the staff can keep the robust efficiency momentum they demonstrated on the finish of the 2024 season, there’s each cause to consider that each Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc might 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 Components 1 calendar gives groups with ample time and, crucially, a wealth of information to tell their choices relating to automotive growth.
Whereas groups like Aston Martin and Crimson Bull launched updates that finally hindered their progress, McLaren stands out as a main instance of a staff that bought it proper. Crew principal Andrea Stella made the smart resolution to delay the set up of McLaren’s new flooring, cautious of its potential influence on the efficiency of different groups.
Ferrari, alternatively, launched a major replace in Spain that set them again for a number of races, with many arguing that this explicit bundle price them the title. To keep away from repeating such errors in 2025, Ferrari might want to guarantee they make the appropriate calls, which might give Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc a real alternative to problem McLaren and Max Verstappen’s dominance.