Jul.25 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton says he is determined not to repeat the failures of Ferrari’s past prominent drivers – as the team rolls out a major upgrade package this weekend at Spa.
Ferrari has brought a new rear suspension and revised rear wing to Belgium, developed under the guidance of Loic Serra, Hamilton’s former Mercedes colleague. The changes mark the Scuderia’s most significant update for some time and signal a renewed push to close the gap to McLaren and Red Bull.
“It’s highly unlikely we’re going to fully optimise it during this weekend,” Hamilton said Thursday. “It’ll probably be something we’re optimising over the next few weekends.”
Although simulator testing showed “no difference”, Hamilton said it was encouraging to see parts finally arriving. “The positive thing is seeing that new bits are coming. There clearly is a big push back at the factory.”
Hamilton has played a key role in that push. During the break, he spent several days at Maranello, holding meetings with Ferrari president John Elkann, team boss Frederic Vasseur, technical heads, and department leads – including Serra – to map out changes for both the current car and 2025.
“I’ve sent documents. After the first few races, I did a full document for the team. During the break, I had another two I sent in,” he revealed. “Some of it’s structural adjustments, and the other was really about the car.”
Hamilton said he’s leveraging his experience from McLaren and Mercedes to avoid repeating the fate of past Ferrari stars.
“If you look at the team over the last 20 years, they’ve had amazing drivers – Kimi (Raikkonen), Fernando (Alonso), Sebastian (Vettel). However, they didn’t win a world championship,” he said.
“For me, I refuse for that to be the case with me. So I’m going the extra mile. I’m here to win. I don’t have as much time as this one here,” he added, gesturing to his replacement at Mercedes, 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli.
“It’s crunch time,” 40-year-old Hamilton admitted.
Charles Leclerc, who also ran the new suspension during Ferrari’s recent Mugello filming day, urged caution.
“It’s a change that is going in the right direction,” he said. “But even if we put the best of the best parts on, I don’t think it’ll give us the three or four tenths we’re missing.”
Still, Leclerc added, “I’m glad we have it on the car, and you’ll be surprised.”
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