Lewis Hamilton enters his 18th season in Formula 1 this year but his move to Ferrari means there’s more anticipation than ever about how the 40-year-old will fare.
Fernando Alonso’s continued presence in F1 means less is being made about Lewis Hamilton’s age than it may have done in the past.
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has no concerns about Hamilton entering the next decade of his life, otherwise he wouldn’t have signed the seven-time world champion to replace Carlos Sainz.
Hamilton has signed an initial two-year deal with Ferrari, but it could be extended should both parties be happy with their progression.
Ferrari narrowly missed out on the Constructors’ Championship last year and both Hamilton and new teammate Charles Leclerc will be encouraged by the progress the team made in 2024.
However, for the first time in his F1 career, Hamilton expressed some doubts about his ability.
He was beaten by George Russell in qualifying on 19 out of 24 occasions, lamenting his performance as the campaign went on.
Journalist Jake Boxall-Legge was speaking on the James Allen on F1 Podcast about Hamilton’s upcoming Ferrari debut.
He explained why Hamilton might have to make adjustments to his driving style to get to grips with Ferrari’s 2025 car.
The changes Lewis Hamilton might have to make to his driving style at Ferrari
Asked whether Hamilton will just be learning about procedures and processes during his Ferrari tests before the season starts, Boxall-Legge said: “There’s a bit of that, but also, and I sort of broached this subject earlier, he’s only ever raced in Formula 1 with a Mercedes engine.
“And so there’s the power delivery in the Ferrari that will be different, He’ll have to feed the throttle on a little bit differently.
“The brakes will feel different. The steering wheel will be a…” before host James Allen interrupts and mentions that there are 25 different buttons for Hamilton to ‘get used to’ ahead of the season starting.
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Boxall-Legge continued: “There’s a lot to get used to. It’s like, I don’t know, this is a weird example, but let’s say if you’re a competitive gamer and you only play on Xbox and then suddenly you’re on a PC, it’s like you’ve got a keyboard to learn and everything like that.
“That’s a very simplistic example and then there’s dialling himself in with his team as well.
“Ferrari has a very different way of working compared to Mercedes.”
Ferrari have to find a difficult balance between supporting Hamilton and Leclerc
Given how many rookies are on the grid in 2025, several teams already have a well-defined number-one driver within their pairing.
The likes of Max Verstappen at Red Bull, Pierre Gasly at Alpine and Nico Hulkenberg at Sauber all fulfil that criteria.
Vasseur is unlikely to prefer either driver to begin with, but if Ferrari have a championship-challenging car, then a difficult decision will need to be made.
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Ferrari will initially not prefer Hamilton or Leclerc, but given how competitive this season is expected to be, Vasseur will have to make some difficult calls as the campaign progresses.
Hamilton will take part in several testing days before pre-season begins, but as Boxall-Legge explains, he will have to make some adaptations ahead of the first race in Australia.
That could give Leclerc the narrow advantage he might need to get a head start on his more experienced teammate.
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