Italian media give verdict on Ferrari's F1 title chances in 2025 ahead of Lewis Hamilton's first season
Italian media have given their verdict on Ferrari's world title chances in Lewis Hamilton's first season with the team.
Ferrari finished second in the Constructors' Championship last season, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz winning five Grands Prix between them.
Sainz already knew he was going to be replaced by Hamilton for 2025, with the seven-time world champion signing a multi-year contract to kick in from then in February 2024.
The Brit has now completed several test sessions with the Scuderia and visited Maranello last month before stepping into a 2023 Ferrari for the first time.
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Now, with just a month to go until the 2025 season gets underway at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia, Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport have given their verdict on how Ferrari's season will go.
After viewing McLaren's unveiling of their challenger for this year, Gazzetta have noted that McLaren and Ferrari look to be 'the two main contenders for the titles'.
They add that, in another apparent boost for the Scuderia, the Italian team 'is the one with the most effective technical arsenal, also compared to the Woking team [McLaren]'.
The outlet also notes Ferrari upgrades to its wind tunnel as being a significant benefit for both the 2024 and 2025 cars, writing that it 'allowed an increasingly accurate simulation of setups with minimum ground clearance' and enabling the team to 'solve the problems encountered with the update introduced in Spain'.
In addition, the team's simulator is now 'to date ... the best in this sector and in the environment it is considered by many to be a step ahead of those of its rivals'.
Hamilton and Leclerc have been working on the simulator - which has effectively replicated a model of how the 2025 car will perform on-track - before its official unveiling at pre-season testing next week.
Speaking ahead of the 2025 season and his new partnership with the seven-time world champion, Leclerc - who has driven for Ferrari since 2019 - outlined what he hopes to achieve.
In an interview with the New York Times, he said: "He will bring a lot of motivation.
"Everybody's already super motivated, but when you've got a seven-time champion joining the team and, obviously, this is the biggest move of the last many, many, many years, that gives a boost to the team.
"Everybody's proud of being part of that story, and we all want to make that story as successful as possible and, for me, the most beneficial to Ferrari as a whole.
"Of course, there's me as well. I want this story to be super good and successful. However, I also want to be part of that story and add my bit to it, and having the dream in my mind of being a Formula 1 world champion."
Topics: Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Formula 1
Ryan Smart