Lewis Hamilton will contest his first race in Italy as a Ferrari driver this weekend as F1 hits the Scuderia’s backyard, Imola, for possibly the last Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
But the pride of Italy head to their home circuit on the back of yet more disappointment last time out at the Miami Grand Prix. Despite Hamilton’s call to pit gifting Ferrari a Miami Sprint podium by pitting early for slick tyres, the Scuderia were miles off the pace in the main race.
A massive 57.036 and 60.186 separated Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc in P7 and Hamilton in P8 from Oscar Piastri as the McLaren ace won the Miami GP. It was the biggest deficit to the race winner that Hamilton has endured since he joined Ferrari ahead of the 2025 F1 season.
Hamilton and Ferrari also face another tough time at what may be the final Emilia Romagna GP this weekend, as Imola’s contract to stage an F1 race expires after this year’s running. He will especially not like what former Ferrari engineer Rob Smedley claims they need at Imola.
Rob Smedley ‘certainly’ does not think Ferrari will win at Imola without taking upgrades
Smedley is certain that Ferrari will not upset the apple cart by rivalling McLaren, Red Bull or Mercedes for the top positions at Imola unless they offer Hamilton and Leclerc upgrades for the Emilia Romagna GP. Any new parts will also have to eclipse the upgrades their rivals run.
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Smedley said on F1 Nation: “This is probably not going to make the Tifosi happy, but I see no reason why – unless they bring a different package.
“We’ve had six races up to now, we pretty much know where the Ferrari is now. Like, why do we expect something significantly different because they’re on home turf?
“I know that they are bringing updates, all the teams are bringing upgrades to a greater or lesser extent. Maybe they can make some small inroads. But I certainly wouldn’t expect there to be any big change from the status quo that we’ve seen in those first races.”
Lewis Hamilton will not like Rob Smedley feeling like Ferrari need upgrades at the Emilia Romagna GP
While Ferrari are working on an unexpected rear suspension change to help fix the SF-25, it will not come as music to Hamilton’s ears that Smedley believes the Scuderia ought to have upgrades at Imola for them to compete for the top positions during the Emilia Romagna GP.
According to AutoRacer, Ferrari will not offer Hamilton or Leclerc any significant upgrades at Imola. Instead, the Scuderia will mainly use the Emilia Romagna GP just to conduct a one-off test of their proposed new brake duct to gather data on its aerodynamic impact and cooling.
Technical director Loic Serra previously delayed the Scuderia’s development plans until after the Spanish Grand Prix, which has delayed the Maranello squad unveiling a new floor that is in development. There is not currently a timeline for when it will be ready to arrive at a track.
Serra feels it is important for Ferrari to first see how the SF-25 copes in the Spanish GP once the FIA imposes stricter tests on flexible wings in Spain. So, Hamilton and Leclerc could have to wait until the Canadian Grand Prix in four rounds’ time to receive any significant upgrades.
