Lewis Hamilton and his opaque premiere with Ferrari

The English was far from showing its best version in the first part of its baptism in Maranello.

The pompous presentation of Lewis Hamilton in Maranello, on January 20, are already images in Sepia. The Englishman since childhood with his landing in Ferrari, the only team with perfect presence in all F1 seasons. The heptacampeón decided to put aside the comfort of Mercedes, a team with which he won six crowns and brand with which he had been linked throughout his passage through the World Cup (in McLaren, as a motorist) and, at age 40, embark on the challenge of achieving his eighth championship dressed in red. The company, in the previous one, was complex: La Rossa has not won the pilot tournament since 2007 (Kimi Räikkönen) and builders since 2008.

In the very long period of drought, the Italian team swallowed two great stars that arrived to reverge laurels of the times of Michael Schumacher: Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel. The Spanish debuted with Victoria in Bareín in 2010, but could not go beyond the runner -ups obtained in its first season (strategy error in Abu Dhabi, date that closed the World Cup), 2012 and 2013. The German, with its four titles of Red Bull, arrived as the winning letter, but did not work: it won 14 races and had to settle for 2 in 2017 and 2018.

Ferrari is different from everything. Cavallino’s pressure has a huge specific weight. The Team has fans around the world and at home, Italy, there are three things: the selection, the Pope and Ferrari. The order remains at the choice of each. The announcement of Hamilton’s arrival was made a year before the landing. The Scuderia received it in a good way: with the 2024 builders runner -up (It was defined in favor of McLaren in the final appointment) and with good prospects after five victories. But the SF-25 was born badly.

Most of the teams opted for a clean pass of the 2024 chassis to face the 2025 exercise, the last before the great change of regulations that will be released in 2026 and that will bring new cars and engines. Enrico Cardile was responsible for the design of the Ferrari car for 2025, before leaving his position as a technical director to move to Aston Martin. The Italian decided to change the front suspension system and went from Pushrod to Pullrod. The modification generated problems in the rear train and the height of the car.

Already without Cardile and with Loic Serra in charge, Ferrari worked to overcome the problems, but after consuming 14 of the 24 dates of the year, they still did not achieve victories. And in the middle, Hamilton loaded with broken dishes, with a complicated walk and far from his partner Charles Leclerc. The Monegasco is 10-4 above classifications and 12-2 in races. Leclerc achieved a pole position (Hungary) and went up to the podium five times. Hamilton, meanwhile, failed to advance beyond fourth place, obtained in Emilia-Romagna, Austria and Great Britain.

The lowest point of the seven -time world champion took place in the last two races before the holiday stop: it did not exceed the Belgium Q1 in two classifications (Sprint and Main Carrera) and in Hungary there was 12º, while their partner stayed with the 1. Pole, so they probably have to change the pilot, ”he said.

English has hope placed in the 2026 chassiswith the new regulations. In fact, he publicly asked that Ferrari is completely concentrated in the car of next year. Meanwhile, many voices rose around the hetpacampeón and even advise to retire, as Bernie Ecclestone did: “Lewis has a lot Something completely, ”said the ex -president of Formula 1.

Meanwhile, from Ferrari they expect Hamilton to recover the level known and even John Elkan, the president of the Maranello brand, designed a report in which he pointed to the key areas in which he must work. In Italy they are hoped that the end of the passage of English through the Scuderia has an end different from that of Alonso and Vettel.