Ferrari have introduced a major upgrade for this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are hoping they can, at the very least, get their first Grand Prix podium of the season.
Fred Vasseur may have accelerated the Scuderia’s development plans after their disappointing start. While Hamilton won the Sprint in Shanghai, they have otherwise struggled, averaging less than 12 points per weekend.
The two cars were disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix, with Hamilton thrown out due to excessive skid block wear. Perhaps the underbody revisions for Bahrain will allow the team to run the car lower without taking the same risks.
Ted Kravitz was impressed by Ferrari’s upgrades when he caught a first glimpse in the pit lane. But recent history suggests it may take the Italian giants a few races to fully optimise the new package, by which point the gap to an imperious McLaren could be alarming.
Sam Collins says new-look Ferrari at Bahrain Grand Prix ‘clearly’ inspired by 2022 Mercedes
Speaking on the sport’s official YouTube channel, F1TV tech expert Sam Collins reviewed the new Ferrari. The side-on angle revealed a clear similarity with the 2022 Mercedes car.
The Silver Arrows pursued the infamous ‘zeropod’ concept that year, but they were forced to abandon it for 2023, having misunderstood the new ground-effect regulations. They finished nearly 250 points behind Red Bull in the constructors’.
Hamilton had won in every single year of his career until 2022, with George Russell taking Mercedes’ one and only victory that year.
| CATEGORY | VOL. |
| Races | 22 |
| Wins | 1 |
| Poles | 1 |
| Podiums | 17 |
| Points | 515 |
| Gap to champions | 244 |
Ferrari haven’t been quite as extreme with their design, but the aero beneath the mirror is reminiscent of the W13. It’s worth noting that former Mercedes engineer Loic Serra now works at Maranello.
“When you look at the car from the side, you can start to see some of the other elements they’ve been playing around with,” Collins said.
“You can see underneath the rearview mirror [they’ve] taken inspiration perhaps from the 2022 Mercedes with that large panel extending out ahead of the leading edge of the sidepod. Not quite zeropods, but clearly the design inspiration coming from the 2022 Mercedes.”
Lewis Hamilton revealed his true thoughts on Mercedes W13 after the season had ended
Speaking in December 2022, Hamilton admitted that the W13 had given Mercedes false hope in pre-season testing. He was intent on exacting revenge over Max Verstappen after the 2021 finale, but it quickly became clear that this was impossible.
The British driver said ‘it was like a ghost was in the car’ at times. Mercedes are still trying to catch up after losing decisive ground that year, and Hamilton has never truly looked comfortable in this generation of machinery.
While there’s clearly a lot riding on the Bahrain Grand Prix upgrade, Vasseur is refusing to entertain a switch in focus to 2026. Ferrari will face calls to start prioritising the regulation changes if their championship hopes fall away.
It’s worth remembering that McLaren made a huge leap in performance at a similar stage of the 2024 season, completely changing the championship picture. But it will be considerably harder to make gains this year as the ground-effect cars near full potential.
