Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton has explained how his team’s approach to upgrades this season differs from how the likes of Red Bull and Mercedes operate.
The Ferrari fanbase is the most demanding in Formula 1 and considering many races have passed this season without the Prancing Horse being in with a serious chance of winning, there is serious pressure to bring serious upgrades in the second half of the season.
When speaking at the pre-weekend press conference ahead of the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa Francorchamps, it was put to Hamilton that he tested some new parts at Mugello recently. He claims it was more of a filming event rather than a proper test, saying: “We didn’t test. It was a photo shoot day, basically. So did like 10 laps or whatever—14 laps of filming. It was not a test.”
Less frequent upgrades for Ferrari
This stage of the season is when upgrades can drastically change the course a team’s campaign, and Hamilton is hopeful that Ferrari will soon be able to fight for race wins on a weekly basis.
There was a new floor on the Ferrari cars at the British Grand Prix and at times during the weekend, it seemed to make a difference. Heading to Belgium, suspension upgrades are in place, but when asked if this is the time where Ferrari will start to gather real pace, Hamilton played it down.
“No. I think, well, firstly, we’ll get to test the suspension tomorrow, and I’m sure there’s going to be learnings from it. We’ll figure out how to fine-tune it and try to extract performance from it. On the simulator, there’s no difference. But I’m sure across different circuits, perhaps there’ll be benefits. For me, the positive thing is arriving at the filming day where you see that new bits are coming,” Hamilton said.
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Expanding further, Hamilton explained that Ferrari tend to get significant upgrades after going many weeks without one, which is in contrast to how the likes of Red Bull and Mercedes like to operate.
“You see that we are getting development. Because in general, we had an upgraded floor in Bahrain. Then it was quite some time before we got another upgrade—I think it was Austria. And pace-wise it wasn’t necessarily what I thought we would have,” Hamilton said.
“If you look at some of the other teams, they bring small pieces every single weekend—like Red Bull often do or Mercedes do, for example. Whereas these are more like big chunks along the way.
“So I was just really happy to see that there clearly is a big push back at the factory. There are a lot of changes, and then to see the results of those changes takes time. So I was just really grateful to see that we got new parts. We’ll try and put them to use this weekend.”
Pressure to win a title with Ferrari
It is no wonder that Hamilton is giving serious thought to the upgrade packages at Ferrari, given he is desperate to win his record-breaking eighth world championship as part of the team.
“If you look at the team over the last 20 years, they’ve had amazing drivers,” Hamilton recently said to media, including Total-Motorsport.com. “You’ve had Kimi, you’ve had Fernando, you’ve had Sebastian – all world champions.
“However, they didn’t win a world championship. For me, I refuse for that to be the case with me. So, I’m going the extra mile. I’ve obviously been very fortunate to have had experiences in two other great teams.
“Whilst things are for sure going to be different, because there’s a different culture and everything, I think sometimes if you take the same path all the time, you get the same result.”
