2025 Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team

[sucof]

Plain personal opinion:
As a person with an engineering mind, and who actually created many things in life and met people doing the same, I kinda sense when someone has the knowledge and or interest and or expertise in such fields. With Lewis, I never had the feeling he is such a type, never seen him actually talking about specific technological details... Rather I saw him a person who has its strength in being sensitive, and more like an artistic personality. Which can also produce a great driver, as driving is hugely about feel.
So while not questioning his driving abilities, my opinion is that he is not the type who understands the car really, or has a methodical mind, understanding what makes a great engineering team, car designing philosophy, or even which rule set requires which kinds of strength.
Hence he has a hard time to adapt. A driver who can understand those things, can change its driving style and adapt better.
People like Schumacher, or Verstappen, hence a better asset for a team to develop as a whole, as they have a more methodical mindset, hence they truly see how things around them is working, and can compare them, have meaningful suggestions. Lewis in my opinion is more of the driver who if gets a car that fits him, can be super quick, on par with the mentioned drivers, but if he does not, then the team is more in the dark.
Hence, I feel Ferrari, which truly needs a strong hand and a clear direction, benefited from the Michael era, alongside Todt and Brown. Hence I made my previous comment regarding Newey, and that they should have made even big sacrifices to get him and let themselves led by such a strong personality.
The current ideology at Ferrari, to have a team of many good people, is not something that fits their mentality, hence they are stuck hovering around position 2.

[SiLo]

It's like he thinks he's Gordon Ramsay in Kitchen Nightmares, except he's not a chef, Ferrari isn't a pigsty, and this isn't reality TV He's a driver!

And what started the conversation here is fans encouraging this by saying stuff like "Ferrari should just listen to Lewis, let him lead the team". Why? Nothing that has happened over the past 4 years tells me that he's the guy at this stage of his career, whether it be for driving or development. He talks a lot (as Elkann pointed out), but it's not from a position of strength, it's out of insecurity about his performance and looking for excuses. All of this talk may have been tolerable if he was performing, but he's not.

Yeah, what would possibly the greatest F1 driver ever know about winning?

Take what people say with a grain of salt, anyone saying let him basically run the team isn't worth listening to. Ideally what Ferrari should be doing is simply taking in as much as they can get from Hamilton, and then deciding whether his suggestions merit change or work and move forwards with them.

People right at the end of either side of the spectrum saying things and arguing about it is pointless, but there is some truth in what both sides say. It's not as binary as everyone appears to be making it out to be.

[Wynters]

Well, I think we've got that covered now. In conclusion, no one who isn't directly employed in a speciality can have any thoughts of any value to that speciality. Ironically, of course, that means every comment in the this thread shouldn't have been made as no one here is employed in multiple (or indeed any) roles within an F1 team. Now that's settled, we can let the the topic lie and focus on the actual activities of the team. I appreciate that's a rare occurence in this thread.

In addition, everyone who has commented on the ability of Hamilton (and other drivers) to contribute (or not contribute) to a team are, by participating in this thread in that fashion, clearly experts in what those drivers do and do not know and are willing / able to contribute. Personally, this is a great relief as I don't know any of these drivers personally and I haven't worked with any of them professionally so having all of your expert and knowledgable commentary on this behind the scenes stuff is super useful. Perhaps all of you commenting could share the hard, definitive evidence that underpins your authorative comments though? I mean, obviously no one doubts your deep insight and extensive personal and professional experience with these people, but it would help the rest of us poor mortals separate out the meaingful 'wheat' from the biased axe-grinding 'chaff' that seems to proliferate during gaps between races? If you aren't able to share any evidence (totally understandable given the sensitive nature of such information), maybe best just to let this one lie too, eh? You wouldn't want to be confused with one of those biased axe-grinders.

[clownfish]

Maybe, maybe not. Either way it's becoming clear to me that that all these meetings and documents haven't gone over too well with some people at the team. And you can understand why, should Ferrari start sending documents to Hamilton over the holidays on how to drive the car faster? Each has their own responsibilities and that should be the focus.

He's down 3-15 in race results, 5-16 in the quali (average gap more like 2 tenths). He hasn't scored a single podium and Leclerc has 7. He has crashed twice in the last seven races completely on his own. Is that "performing"? I don't think so, not for the money Elkann is paying.

In recent races (excl. cockups) it's been about a tenth to Leclerc, Lewis was a tenth quicker in Singapore.

Mexico .848 / .938
USA .807 / .912
Singapore .784 / .688
Monza .007 / .124
Neth'ds .340 / .390

I agree with part of what you said - I'm certain the documents will not have gone down well.

But the fact that he's had to write these documents itself is damning, it says that he feels that he is not being listened to.
If I were running the team, I would be wanting to extract every last Euro worth of information from him.

This recent statement from Elkann was a total own goal IMO as well. We all know the car has serious issues, we've watched the onboards and heard the radio messages. Absolutely tone deaf thing to say.

[ScuderiaLeo]

The team not listening to driver feedback isn't a new thing or exclusive to Hamilton. Leclerc has complained about it for years since 2023. Sainz was even more open about it. But I think the bigger issue is communication between different parts of the team. Maybe the drivers feedback is being taken into consideration but they aren't being informed, for example. Or maybe the feedback doesn't correlate with the data. Either way the drivers don't feel they have a good sense how much is being done which is why we see them exasperated about lack of perceived progress. I can't remember what race it was this season (Spain? Austria? around there) that the drivers said "we have no idea what's being worked on right now" and when Vasseur was asked about it he said "disregard them, we'll talk to them later"

[bluechris]

Personally i don't see where is the debate. Hamilton cannot drive this car and he gives his opinion to the team. We know that Leclerc doesn't do the same? Or simple Leclerc doesn't care to show off on this? For me it's the latter but i see what Lewis does as positive. Bottom line, the others will try to do the best they can counting all the parameters.
I would say, let's have a car next year that doesn't have any fundamental flaw like this year's car and we will be fine.

[AR3-GP]

It's never as simple as "team doesn't listen to the driver". If a team could give the driver what they want, why wouldn't they? Does the team not want to win? It's not that simple. The real problem is the lack of knowledge in how to make the car better. That's why so few teams win. It is not because 9 of 10 teams simply "don't listen to the driver". F1 is hard. If everybody could just "listen to the driver" and have a championship winning car, they would have done it. The driver can't tell the engineers what shapes to put in the windtunnel to make the car better and the engineers don't know either...

[Dee]

I think that Hamilton wants to get Ferrari to a place where he is driving a car he likes and wants processes in place like he had in Mercedes, so when he gets the car, everything can be working at the optimum, for him.

What is going against him this year is that he is not performing in the current car while;

* Requesting changes internally
* Speaking negatively about Ferrari to the press.

Looking at both their statements after Elkann's comment you can see where their purviews lie;

Lewis “I back my team. I back myself. I will not give up. Not now, not then, not ever. Thank you, Brazil, always,” Hamilton said.

Charles “Disappointing to come back home with nearly no points at all for the team in what is a critical moment of the season to fight for the 2nd place in the constructors' championship. It’s uphill from now and it’s clear that only unity can help us turn that situation around in the last 3 races.

“We’ll give it all, as always.”

[AR3-GP]

I think that Hamilton wants to get Ferrari to a place where he is driving a car he likes and wants processes in place like he had in Mercedes, so when he gets the car, everything can be working at the optimum, for him.

What is going against him this year is that he is not performing in the current car while;

* Requesting changes internally
* Speaking negatively about Ferrari to the press.

Looking at both their statements after Elkann's comment you can see where their purviews lie;

Lewis “I back my team. I back myself. I will not give up. Not now, not then, not ever. Thank you, Brazil, always,” Hamilton said.

Charles “Disappointing to come back home with nearly no points at all for the team in what is a critical moment of the season to fight for the 2nd place in the constructors' championship. It’s uphill from now and it’s clear that only unity can help us turn that situation around in the last 3 races.

“We’ll give it all, as always.”

Interesting observation.

Some of it ties in with what Aldo Costa said about Hamilton recently. Aldo Costa was at Mercedes from 2014-2019

He is the standard bearer of the team and he must feel in this position. If he doesn't feel like he is in a situation like this, he loses a bit of performance. He likes the idea of being the hero with the whole team behind him.

https://www.formulapassion.it/f1/f1-new ... restazione

Hamilton is not at Ferrari to make Charles Leclerc a champion. Like most F1 drivers, they are only thinking about themselves. Whether or not the changes at Ferrari harm Charles Leclerc is not in Lewis Hamilton's mind. Everything he advises ultimately serves his vision of an 8th title at Ferrari. Leclerc has to play the game and hold his ground, otherwise it will be Hamilton's Ferrari when they win. I think many are quite naive about the nature of the relationship between Leclerc and Hamilton. It's a game of thrones. Sir Lewis vs Lord Perceval

[Dee]

Fear not though if you are a Lewis and Ferrari fan, astrologically speaking, both Ferrari and Lewis are due to have a great year next year.

Here is why I think Ferrari will be better than Mercedes in 2026;

* Ferrari don't have to change their engine design as they never adopted the split turbo like everyone other engine supplier did in 2014 and which will now be banned in 2026 - "https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comme ... d_in_2026/
* Shell have major experience in e-fuels and using e-fuels with the current engine design which could be a major advantage going forward - https://scuderiafans.com/f1-fuel-war-wi ... e-in-2026/
* In relation to the above, I remember reading that Mercedes were having issues with their e-fuel integrating with the engine. I couldn't find where I read it but it may have been Mark Hughes responding to a comment. If anyone finds something on this, please link.
* Ferrari have gotten rid of a failed designer and brought in Loic Serra, I only see this as a good thing as well as switching to a push rod suspension next year.
* RB took 170 engine personnel from Mercedes along with their head engine designer so Mercedes will be on the back foot engine wise, yes, I do think they will nail the electric side of things due to their experience in Formula E but the e-fuel and new engine design for 2026 could be major setbacks.
* Toto is selling 33% of his shares in Mercedes, why do this if they are going to dominate the new regs? https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/arti ... exyd57lwpo
* Someone (cough cough - Toto) spread rumours in the media that Ferrari were having issues with their 2026 engine to stop personnel from moving teams. https://scuderiafans.com/ferrari-2026-e ... maranello/. Again, Why do that if you will dominate the new regs?

As for Lewis;

* The new car may suit him
* The extra capacity he has in the car to make decisions may prove the difference between him and Charles - (Alex Albon has suggested F1 drivers who have the “brain capacity” to manipulate next year's cars will hold an advantage over their rivals), https://racingnews365.com/alex-albon-is ... r%20rivals.
* Do I believe Lewis is faster than Charles? No, but do I believe he is smarter? Yes, Charles has not shown major "brain capacity" so far in his career. It's why Sainz won such major races while they were teammates

So ultimately, I think Ferrari and Lewis fans can look at the new year with a lot of positivity! And if you don't believe, check out their astrological charts.

[PlatinumZealot]

I think you missunderstand the role the driver plays in a team. He IS a central peice and will be exposed to all departments and how they work. He will be called to test developments he will be aware or wind tunnel runs and upgrades coming to the car. He will be in meetings with the designers.

There are people who have an unbiased view while being more connected than any of us here, and many credible ones pretty much agree with my thoughts. Ferrari should wise-up and start making ever effort to consider what Hamilton is saying about how a winning team should be!


https://www.planetf1.com/news/ferrari-m ... o-cigarini

Cigarini is convinced that Hamilton can be Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher 2.0, but only if he is allowed to shape the team’s direction.

“Hamilton brings knowledge and organisation typical of British teams, which are highly structured and different from Ferrari,” said Cigarini.

https://www.planetf1.com/news/juan-pabl ... port-tools

“The faster Ferrari’s team and engineers listen to Hamilton on how to make the car better, the better it will be for the team in the long term.”

I'm surprised you are failing to see this. Or are you turning away from a bitter medicine?

Unless what he is saying is credible feedback on the car’s behaviour on track, they should ignore him completely and trust the engineers to do engineering. To see examples of “driver engineering” from recent times, one needs only to look back to last year at Mercedes. They were bending over backwards to accommodate things like the seat position and it had zero impact on Hamilton’s performance. He was actually worse compared to George after they “fixed” that for him, and the car was hardly competitive either. Ferrari would be making a fatal mistake by treating his suggestions as relevant feedback when in reality they have turned out to be excuses.

Ferrari need to resist the urge of placating Hamilton and his fans, and they need to do what they think is best based on their engineering knowledge, of which Hamilton has none.

Are you just making stuff up? The 2023, 2024 and 2025 cars were improvements on the experimentations done in 2022.

[PlatinumZealot]

Maybe I'm wrong but I don't see anything there saying he is making suggestions on "engineering solutions".

My interpretation of that statement is that he wants certain characteristics in the suspension, engine etc. I don't think he's going over the finer points of carbon layup and what material the spark plugs are made from.

Also this thing of Lewis "not performing" and "needing excuses" ... he's a tenth off Leclerc who has been driving Ferrari cars for 6 years and Ferrari PUs for 7 years. I don't think he's doing too badly.

Maybe, maybe not. Either way it's becoming clear to me that that all these meetings and documents haven't gone over too well with some people at the team. And you can understand why, should Ferrari start sending documents to Hamilton over the holidays on how to drive the car faster? Each has their own responsibilities and that should be the focus.

He's down 3-15 in race results, 5-16 in the quali (average gap more like 2 tenths). He hasn't scored a single podium and Leclerc has 7. He has crashed twice in the last seven races completely on his own. Is that "performing"? I don't think so, not for the money Elkann is paying.

So you've twisted a calm, balanced conversation about how Ferrari should listen to it's 7xWDC to make it's team better, to Lewis sucks! He's slower than Leclerc and can't score a podium! He should shut up and drive the dog of the car that the team gives him!!

[littlebigcat]

Plain personal opinion:
As a person with an engineering mind, and who actually created many things in life and met people doing the same, I kinda sense when someone has the knowledge and or interest and or expertise in such fields. With Lewis, I never had the feeling he is such a type, never seen him actually talking about specific technological details... Rather I saw him a person who has its strength in being sensitive, and more like an artistic personality. Which can also produce a great driver, as driving is hugely about feel.
So while not questioning his driving abilities, my opinion is that he is not the type who understands the car really, or has a methodical mind, understanding what makes a great engineering team, car designing philosophy, or even which rule set requires which kinds of strength.
Hence he has a hard time to adapt. A driver who can understand those things, can change its driving style and adapt better.
People like Schumacher, or Verstappen, hence a better asset for a team to develop as a whole, as they have a more methodical mindset, hence they truly see how things around them is working, and can compare them, have meaningful suggestions. Lewis in my opinion is more of the driver who if gets a car that fits him, can be super quick, on par with the mentioned drivers, but if he does not, then the team is more in the dark.
Hence, I feel Ferrari, which truly needs a strong hand and a clear direction, benefited from the Michael era, alongside Todt and Brown. Hence I made my previous comment regarding Newey, and that they should have made even big sacrifices to get him and let themselves led by such a strong personality.
The current ideology at Ferrari, to have a team of many good people, is not something that fits their mentality, hence they are stuck hovering around position 2.

I mean this is true if you completely ignore the various interviews with mechanics and engineers who have worked with Hamilton at McLaren and Mercedes.

[Tiny73]

<Conjecture mode on>

Perhaps, based on what we’ve heard of the Ferrari atmosphere, culture etc, it’s about bringing operational insight/excellence to make a more successful team. No is suggesting that Lewis is playing on the CAD machine and telling the CFD team how to do their job but more about bringing successful operational practices to bear in Ferrari.

I’ve worked at top 50 levels in multiple manufacturing and R&D companies and one of the things that still amazes me is how little systems thinking goes on, ie cradle to grave considerations. Products are often designed in a vacuum and other critical stakeholders brought in when the “concept” is baked in with a reluctance to change even when the manufacturing/IP/Regulatory teams are highlighting key issues.

Maybe in Ferrari this island mentality (remember, conjecture mode is “on” here) leads to less than ideal integration as it’s a sum of disparate car parts rather than a seamless joining of complimentary functions where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts?

Operations at trackside, how teams set up for a weekend, even silly things like catering, team r&r, strategy decision making, are all things that need to be considered for a high performing team and we’ve seen Ferrari drop the ball repeatedly in these areas. Maybe these are the areas (aside from input into how the car feels) that Lewis is brining to the table? I mean, it’s not like Mercedes didn’t have a long period of domination is it? That didn’t just come from the car.

<conjecture mode off>

[dans79]

Maybe in Ferrari this island mentality (remember, conjecture mode is “on” here) leads to less than ideal integration as it’s a sum of disparate car parts rather than a seamless joining of complimentary functions where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts?

A good example of this is when Kell Johnson ran the Skunk Works at Lockheed. He made the engineers work in close proximity to the shop floor, and in a lot of cases put them in charge of small groups of machinists, mechanics, & fabricators.

It was said he did this to remove layers of red tape & intermediate management. I've also read on several occasions that it kept the engineers in check by ensuring they didn't design overly complex parts that where hard to machine or manufacture. If they did, they would hear about in short order from the people who had to manufacture it. Sometimes the manufacturing departments had alternatives that were actually better than what the engineers came up with.