Scuderia Ferrari are set to enter the 2025 System 1 marketing campaign with lofty ambitions, particularly given the momentum they carried on the conclusion of the earlier marketing campaign.
Regardless of narrowly lacking out on the constructors’ championship to McLaren, the Scuderia ended the season in a powerful place, signaling their potential for the upcoming 12 months. Charles Leclerc matched the efficiency ranges of Lando Norris and Max Verstappen within the remaining stretch of the season, and had Ferrari’s improve bundle in Spain delivered the supposed outcomes, they may have been celebrating as champions heading into 2025.
Final season, Ferrari boasted one of the crucial formidable driver pairings on the grid, however when the chance arose to signal the game’s most adorned driver, they opted to half methods with Carlos Sainz. Now, Lewis Hamilton has arrived in Maranello, embarking on his mission to safe an unprecedented eighth world title whereas concurrently aiming to finish Ferrari’s 17-year championship drought. The British driver has already embraced his new environment, greeting Ferrari workers in Italian, whereas the large turnout at Fiorano for his first laps in purple showcased simply how properly his arrival has been acquired by the tifosi.
But, because the 2025 season approaches, a key query lingers—what function does Ferrari envision for Hamilton, and if a real title battle emerges, the place will their help lie between him and Leclerc?
In line with journalist Laurence Edmondson on the Unlapped Podcast, Ferrari’s senior management has a transparent desire for the way the season ought to unfold. The highest decision-makers inside Ferrari are eager for Lewis Hamilton to imagine the function of their major driver all through the 2025 System 1 marketing campaign.
Discussing the driving force dynamics at Maranello, Laurence Edmondson instructed that Ferrari had reached a extra secure place, which he believed would allow Charles Leclerc to maximise his efficiency.
He identified that whereas Leclerc had established himself as Ferrari’s lead driver—courting again to his victories over Sebastian Vettel in 2019—Hamilton’s arrival launched a component of uncertainty. Edmondson famous that, as all the time, the staff was more likely to help whichever driver made the stronger begin and collected extra factors early within the season.
Nevertheless, he speculated that Ferrari’s prime executives, together with chairman John Elkann and CEO Benedetto Vigna, may really be anticipating Hamilton to tackle the number-one function. He reasoned that their monetary dedication to Hamilton’s contract, together with the numerous advertising and marketing worth he delivered to the staff, may affect their expectations.
Regardless of this, Laurence Edmondson emphasised that from a purely sporting perspective, efficiency on observe would finally decide Ferrari’s lead driver. He additionally believed that Leclerc had a powerful alternative to achieve an early benefit within the championship and maintain it.
Charles Leclerc Poised to Derail Lewis Hamilton’s First Season with Ferrari
Whereas Ferrari has each industrial and sporting motivations for wanting Lewis Hamilton to thrive, Charles Leclerc could produce other plans.
As Edmondson factors out, Hamilton’s immense marketability is already proving to be a significant asset for the staff. His social media engagement has shattered information, making him a horny determine for sponsors desperate to affiliate with Ferrari. This off-track worth solely strengthens the staff’s incentive to see him succeed.
Nevertheless, in terms of on-track efficiency, Charles Leclerc is shaping as much as be Hamilton’s greatest impediment—assuming Ferrari has delivered a aggressive bundle over the winter break.
The Monegasque driver ended final season in arguably the most effective type of his profession, demonstrating an distinctive understanding of Ferrari’s present era of vehicles. His potential to extract most efficiency from the equipment offers him an important benefit over the British driver, who will want time to regulate.
Not like the Monegasque, Lewis Hamilton has struggled with the dealing with traits of contemporary ground-effect vehicles throughout his time at Mercedes. If he requires a number of races to totally adapt to Ferrari’s 2025 challenger, these early-season factors losses may show expensive within the drivers’ championship battle.