Lewis Hamilton can do nothing but wait for Ferrari to bring solutions to their 2025 Formula 1 car after struggling to start the season.
The Scuderia are clearly behind their front-running rivals, with both cars even managing to finish behind the Williams of Alex Albon at the Miami Grand Prix.
Hamilton’s patience is already showing signs of running out, criticising the car’s setup at the last race when he said, “A bit of a mess at the moment, balance-wise,” according to the F1 website.
Ferrari are now under pressure to bring effective upgrades, starting with the first leg of the European season at home with the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
One Ferrari change is ‘penalising’ Hamilton, after Charles Leclerc instructed the team to make a setup change, which is limiting their rear-end grip.
Fortunately, Leclerc hinted at ‘instant’ Ferrari upgrades that may help to cure some of their issues soon, but they may also have some longer-term woes to fix later in the campaign.
READ MORE: Gary Anderson has noticed that Ferrari are struggling to give Lewis Hamilton one thing he fundamentally needs
Ferrari ‘modifications’ could help fix Lewis Hamilton’s balance woes later in the 2025 F1 season
Fixing an issue with the balance of the car is not going to happen overnight. It may be the fundamental reason why they have been unable to match last year’s performance.
They can point to various things, such as their new front suspension, which wasn’t taken by Haas, who haven’t suffered as many issues.
Or, it could be tied to having a stiffer front wing than their rivals, which will change with a technical directive at the Spanish Grand Prix.
The third and final possibility is their rear suspension, which guides airflow to the rear of the car. The more efficiently that is done, the more traction and setup variety the team has.
Ferrari are working on ‘totally unexpected’ rear suspension changes, and The Race’s Ben Anderson believes that they may arrive too late to have an effect on the title fight.
“However, it would be a mistake to assume that this [Barcelona front-wing directive] could cure all of Ferrari’s ills.
“Mechanical struggles will remain and there are rumours in Italy of modifications to the rear suspension coming later in the season. Whether these will be to the geometry or to the internals is for now, unclear.”
READ MORE: Ferrari fans will love what Lewis Hamilton privately discussed with Fred Vasseur before the Miami Grand Prix
Why the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix may be make-or-break for Ferrari
Casting an eye back to the 2024 season, Ferrari’s campaign derailed a touch with upgrades in Barcelona.
Once they recovered from their poor developments, they showed some really solid pace. They left Europe in far better shape than they entered it.
Sadly, it seems that a repeat of Leclerc’s Monaco win is unlikely, given that one of their key strengths from last year has evaporated (mechanical grip).
But there’s plenty of room for improvement at other circuits, which should help spur the team on as they look to bring new parts to their car.
If their Emilia Romagna Grand Prix upgrades fail, then attention could turn to 2026 very quickly, as they set their sights on a new era of Formula 1.
