Lewis Hamilton boost as Ferrari plot to fast-track ‘advanced’ F1 2025 car uncovered

Ferrari’s plans for their F1 2025 car are “already advanced” with the team set to fast-track ideas from ‘Project 677’ to their F1 2024 chassis ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s arrival.

Hamilton rocked the F1 world in February by announcing that he will join Ferrari on a multi-year contract from F1 2025, ending his long and successful association with Mercedes.

Joy for Lewis Hamilton as F1 2025 Ferrari ideas to be fast-tracked

The British driver has won six of his seven World Championships with Mercedes, as well as becoming the first man in history to surpass 100 grand prix wins and pole positions, since joining the team from McLaren in 2013.

Hamilton has recaptured his best form of late, ending the longest victory drought of his career by taking an emotional win at his home race at Silverstone last month.

He followed that up by collecting a record-extending 105th win at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, where he inherited first place after Mercedes team-mate George Russell was disqualified.

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Reports from Italy last week claimed that Ferrari are to pursue a new design concept with their F1 2025 car, with a revised wheelbase and a switch to pullrod front suspension on the horizon.

The change of philosophy with the suspension is said to be influenced by the impending arrival of Hamilton, whose driving style aligns more closely with that of Charles Leclerc than current incumbent Carlos Sainz.

A pullrod front suspension, currently used by the likes of Red Bull and McLaren is thought to bring a significant aerodynamic benefit by enhancing airflow at the front of the car and specifically the complex underbody, which generates a high proportion of a car’s overall downforce under the current ground-effect rules.

With Ferrari falling behind Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes in the F1 2024 development race, a report by Italian publication La Gazzetta dello Sport has claimed that the team are planning a “revival phase” across the remaining 10 races of the season.

And this will reportedly involve the team fast-tracking ideas from their F1 2025 car, codenamed Project 677, to the current SF-24.

The developments will not only be aerodynamic but also concern changes to the suspension, with “non-invasive” changes to the internal kinematics in the pipeline.

The changes have come directly from the “already advanced study” of Project 677 and comparison analysis between the SF-24’s suspension and the pullrod solution planned for F1 2025.

Ferrari’s suspension design has been scrutinised throughout the ground-effect era, with the Scuderia and customer outfit Haas the only teams still persisting with a pullrod rear suspension. Every other team competes with a pushrod rear suspension layout.

The decision to pursue a new suspension philosophy comes after the departure of technical director Enrico Cardile, who recently announced that he will join Aston Martin in F1 2025.

Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com at the launch of Ferrari’s SF-24 car in February, Cardile insisted that Ferrari did not find any significant differences between having a pull-rod or push-road suspension at the rear.

He said: “In reality, our rear suspension is a bit different in terms of top and lower wishbone distribution compared to Red Bull, to mention one team.

“We recorded good aero results moving towards this direction and when moving from pullrod to pushrod.

“We didn’t measure a big advantage to justify some compromise in terms of weight or compliance, so from there we evolved our suspension, keeping the same layout.”

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