Lewis Hamilton vowed that it won’t be long until he is encouraging Ferrari to pivot resources to Formula 1‘s upcoming rule change amid the team’s poor start to 2025.
There was heightened anticipation surrounding Ferrari going into this season amid the side’s promising end to the previous campaign and Hamilton’s headline arrival.
However, the Italian marque’s results haven’t matched expectations as it has gone winless across the opening nine races to sit a colossal 197 points behind McLaren.
The hope among rivals that the clampdown on flexing front wings would derail McLaren was dispelled as the reigning champions coasted to a dominant 1-2 in Spain.
That prompted Max Verstappen, who stands as the closest contender to the McLaren pairing, to label the Woking-based squad’s MCL39 car “unbeatable” this season.
With an extensive revamp to the regulations on the horizon in 2026, Hamilton has disclosed that he will soon be urging Ferrari to abandon work on the troubled SF-25.
Asked whether Ferrari’s pace would remain similar over the next races, Hamilton told media including Motorsport Week in Barcelona: “I don’t know, if I’m honest.
“I don’t know what upgrades we have coming. We haven’t had an upgrade for quite some time.
“We’ll keep pushing with what we have, but before too soon I’ll be just saying focus on next year.
“So building foundations this year, learning about the tools in terms of structure, in terms of our processes, nailing those so when we arrive next year we’ll be with the car that we really want.”
Can Ferrari upgrades salvage 2025 hopes?
Charles Leclerc, who has taken Ferrari’s three podiums to date in 2025, also accepted that time is running out to salvage the team’s dwindling championship chances.
Unlike Hamilton, Leclerc revealed that he is aware of the changes Ferrari has in the pipeline, but he’s unsure whether it will be enough to propel it onto McLaren’s level.
“I don’t want to be thinking so much long-term just because I have no visibility,” the Monegasque admitted.
“I mean, I know what’s going to come for us in terms of small adjustments and improvements on the car.
“I don’t know what’s coming for the team, so it’s very difficult to predict or expect anything.
“On paper it’s going to be a tough one to go and beat McLaren on a year like this where they’ve been so dominant for the first part of the season.
“It’s going to be very tough, but I’ll give everything until the end.
“I hope this weekend helps us to do a step in the right direction and then hopefully with new parts as soon as possible we can then take the lead in terms of performance on track at least.
“That will help us to hope for better, but we cannot afford to lose too many races.”
READ MORE – Ferrari reveals Lewis Hamilton & Charles Leclerc nursed car issues in F1 Spanish GP
