Although Lewis Hamilton had a difficult weekend in Singapore, the British driver still has a lot to look forward to.
According to Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur, the Scuderia is already primarily working on their 2025 contender in advance of Lewis Hamilton’s arrival, with the US Grand Prix serving as the venue for their final “small upgrades.”
With six races left in the 2024 season, the Italian constructor is close to both McLaren and Red Bull, the leaders of the Constructors’ Championship. However, Vasseur has decided to focus Ferrari’s development on the 2025 car because the top four teams in the series are currently following similar paths.
When asked about Ferrari’s upgrade strategy, Vasseur responded, “We all know we have already started the development of next year’s car.” “For the upcoming event, we plan to implement minor enhancements.”
“I believe that for everyone and all the teams, this will most likely be the final one. The top four teams on the grid are extremely close to one another, so things will be close. We’ll see if it makes a difference.
Hamilton, who is set to join Ferrari at the end of the year after a storied 12-year tenure with Mercedes, will be thrilled to hear this news. The seven-time world champion has won two races in 2024, bringing his total to 105. However, the Silver Arrows haven’t been a reliable contender for the win, with the exception of a rough patch before the summer break.
Mercedes has recently fallen back in the standings, with Red Bull and the Silver Arrows pursuing what appear to be the fastest two cars in the field—McLaren and Ferrari. For Toto Wolff’s team, the Singapore Grand Prix was an especially difficult competition.
Hamilton received some encouraging news to start the weekend. The British driver, who has encountered numerous difficulties during qualifying this year, lined up his W15 behind Lando Norris and Max Verstappen on the second row of the grid; however, Mercedes’ audacious move on Sunday crushed any hopes of finishing on the podium.
The Brackley-based team put Hamilton on soft compound tires at the beginning of the race in an attempt to overtake Verstappen. However, after a subpar start, he lost ground and struggled with the temperature of his Pirelli rubber. Mercedes then boxed him onto hard tires before any other driver in the lead.
Wolff comforted Hamilton after he crossed the finish line in P6, two positions behind teammate George Russell. He apologized on the radio, saying, “Yeah, Lewis. “Obviously, we misread the race, but it wouldn’t have mattered because we gave you a car that wasn’t good enough here. We simply moved slowly today.”
Leave a Reply