The start of the 2025 Formula 1 season is just around the corner and all eyes will be on Ferrari when the paddock descends upon Melbourne.
Lewis Hamilton will be making his Ferrari debut at the Australian Grand Prix and will be desperate to follow in the footsteps of fellow champions Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso in winning one of their first races for the Scuderia.
However, the fanfare around Hamilton means many people may end up taking their eye off his teammate Charles Leclerc.
Leclerc had a brilliant end to the 2024 campaign and was arguably on the same level – if not performing slightly better – than Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.
His victory in front of his home crowd in Monaco and Ferrari’s home support at Monza will live long in his memory, while Leclerc was heavily praised for his performance in Abu Dhabi.
However, the backwards step Ferrari took when installing a major update package at the Spanish Grand Prix ultimately cost them the constructors’ championship.
Ferrari have made changes to their car from last season that they hope will see them leapfrog McLaren and help them deliver their first championship since 2008.
The arrival of Hamilton in Carlos Sainz’s place means Ferrari have to slightly tweak the way they set up their car to try and maximise the seven-time world champion’s strengths.
A report from Motorsport Italia has explained what this means for Leclerc and why it might not be good news for the Monegasque driver.
Ferrari have ‘devalued’ key Charles Leclerc strength with 2025 F1 car
After three days of testing, one of the main questions raised within Ferrari was the ‘unexpected difficulty’ with cornering.
Leclerc had a ‘tense expression’ on his face at the end of the pre-season preparations in Bahrain, in stark contrast to the positivity Hamilton was providing during his media duties.
The 27-year-old told the media: “I would wait a little longer before making a comment.
“For the moment we are working a lot to try to improve the balance because we have struggled a bit over the last two days. We’ll see in Melbourne…”
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Although the SF-25 might not be perfect yet, it appears to be a case of tweaking the car rather than going back to the drawing board.
However, Leclerc said to feel ‘limited’ as the Ferrari is unable to brake as late as he would like into corners which has ‘devalued’ one of his greatest strengths.
Ferrari have scheduled simulator sessions for both drivers this week to try and ‘identify solutions’, which includes figuring out the ideal solution for their new pull-rod suspension and the lack of balance due to shifting the mass of the car towards the rear.
Ralf Schumacher backing Charles Leclerc to defeat Lewis Hamilton this season
While Ferrari’s 2025 car currently lacks some drivability, the extent of the changes means that they may not have completely understood the car before arriving in Bahrain.
The unusually low temperatures at the Bahrain International Circuit didn’t help any of the teams and means that the three practice sessions in Australia will be even more important than first thought.
Leclerc has to use his previous experience as a Ferrari driver to give himself an initial advantage over Hamilton.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory
His one-lap pace has been virtually unmatched over the past two seasons, but Hamilton’s consistency and speed during races could mean he ends up scoring more points.
Ralf Schumacher believes Leclerc has an advantage over Hamilton going into this season but the championship is likely to be determined by the smallest margins.
If Leclerc can’t improve his understanding of the SF-25’s cornering characteristics, then he may end up on the back foot at the beginning of the year when he should be on top of his new teammate.
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