Prior to Lewis Hamilton’s arrival, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has indicated that the Scuderia is already primarily working on its 2025 challenger, with their final “small upgrades” scheduled for the United States Grand Prix.
With six races left in the 2024 season, the Italian constructor is close to both Red Bull in second place and McLaren leading the Constructors’ Championship. However, with the top four teams in the series currently following a similar path, Vasseur has decided to focus Ferrari’s development on the 2025 vehicle.
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 really close to one another, so things will be close. We’ll see if that 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, taking his total to 105. However, the Silver Arrows haven’t been a reliable contender for the win, with the exception of a rough stretch 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 squad, 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 moved him into 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 air, saying, “Yeah, Lewis. “Obviously, we misread the race, but it wouldn’t have mattered because we provided you a car that wasn’t good enough today. We simply moved slowly today.”
