Tyre management is expected to be a key strength of the Ferrari Project 677 car in a boost to the F1 2025 title hopes of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton is gearing up for his first season as a Ferrari driver, having announced almost a year ago that he would join the Italian team from Mercedes on a multi-year contract from the F1 2025 season.

Tyre management the focus of Ferrari Project 677 for F1 2025 season

The seven-time Word Champion will partner eight-time grand prix winner Leclerc, widely regarded as the fastest driver on the current grid, in a blockbuster driver lineup.

Ferrari enjoyed their most successful season in some time in F1 2024, falling just 14 points short of Constructors’ Champions McLaren with a combined five wins for Leclerc (three) and Hamilton’s predecessor Carlos Sainz (two).

With team principal Fred Vasseur recently revealing that the new Project 677 car will be “completely new” for F1 2025, Ferrari are expected to target both titles in the final year of the current regulations.

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Tyre management proved to be a strength of last year’s SF-24, with Leclerc memorably pulling off an alternative strategy to beat McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to an emotional Italian Grand Prix victory at Monza.

Hamilton is also famed for his treatment of the tyres, with many of his record 105 career victories based on his ability to protect his rubber over the course of a race distance.

And it has emerged that tyre management could be a key strength of the F1 2025 car, with Ferrari among the teams to have worked closely with Pirelli on the development of this year’s tyres.

A report by the Italian edition of Motorsport.com has revealed that Pirelli’s tyres for the new season have been designed to reduce overheating and encourage longer race stints.

It is said that Ferrari were “certainly” among the teams to have “collaborated the most” with Pirelli on the F1 2025 tyres, with the feedback from drivers involved in Pirelli tyre tests in 2024 likely to have influenced Ferrari’s development of Project 677.

Ferrari were not alone in assisting Pirelli’s tyre development for 2025, with former AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries spotted behind the wheel of McLaren’s 2022 car during a Pirelli tyre test at Paul Ricard in November.

Rumours since last summer related to Project 677 have suggested that tyre management is a huge area of focus for Ferrari in F1 2025, with many expected changes targeted at improving the car’s weight distribution.

Reports last week claimed that Ferrari have moved the cockpit of the car further back for F1 2025, which appears to be consistent with previous rumours that the team are planning a revised wheelbase.

A shorter gearbox is also expected to feature on Project 677, as well as a return to a pullrod front suspension layout for the first time since 2015.

Despite Enrico Cardile’s move to Aston Martin for F1 2025, Ferrari are expected to retain the divisive pullrod rear suspension layout pursued by the team under the former technical director.

Ferrari’s suspension choices have been under constant scrutiny over recent years, with the Scuderia and customer outfit Haas the only teams still running a pullrod suspension at the rear of the car.

It was thought that Cardile’s exit would prompt a rethink under new chassis technical director Loic Serra, who arrived from Mercedes last October having initially been recruited to work under Cardile.

However, it is believed that Ferrari regard the pullrod rear suspension as a key factor behind the car’s excellent tyre management in F1 2024 with this area set to remain unchanged for the new season.

Ferrari confirmed last month that Project 677 will be officially launched on February 19, one day after F1’s first-ever season-launch event in London.

Reports on Tuesday claimed that the F1 2025 car will carry a “bold” new livery, with a deeper shade of red expected.

However, the new colour scheme is not expected to be extreme as the one-off burgundy livery used by Ferrari at the 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix in Mugello, where the team celebrated its 1,000th F1 race.

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