Lewis Hamilton rumored to be slower than Charles Leclerc at SF-25 shakedown
Lewis Hamilton reportedly put slower lap times compared to Charles Leclerc during the SF-25 shakedown at Fiorano.
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Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton (via Scuderia Ferrari)
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc recently drove the SF-25 during the shakedown at Ferrari’s iconic track Fiorano. Hamilton had already driven the team’s older cars and provided decent feedback. However, reports have emerged about the 40-year-old was slower than his Monegasque counterpart in the 2025 Ferrari challenger.
Lewis Hamilton‘s SF-25 shakedown at the Fiorano circuit was witnessed by a massive presence of the fans at the ‘Tifosi Bridge’. Even Charles Leclerc drove the car around the track and completed around 30 laps followed by Hamilton in the afternoon session. The team hasn’t issued official lap times lodged by the drivers during the shakedown.
However, according to reports by Marca, Hamilton’s fastest lap at Fiorano was around eight-tenths slower than Leclerc. The Ferrari drivers were using the special tires provided by Pirelli during the first test. As a result, the lap times are insignificant as Hamilton might put forth a better result with the compound for 2025.
Apart from the SF-25 testing, Hamilton was also outscored by Leclerc during the two-day tire test at the Barcelona circuit. The Briton trailed his teammate by an astonishing deficit of over 1.788 seconds during the second day. The real lap times will be indicated during the pre-season testing in Bahrain scheduled later this week.
Lewis Hamilton gave ‘positive feedback’ on the SF-25 chassis
According to similar reports, Lewis Hamilton was delighted after driving the SF-25 chassis in Fiorano, deeming it to be different. Also, Hamilton was running a different program than Charles Leclerc which could’ve been the reason for his slower lap time.
Leclerc’s primary focus was to push the chassis to the limit. Hamilton on the other hand wanted to get accustomed to driving his Ferrari car for the 2025 season. Regardless of the lap times, both drivers gave ‘positive feedback’ to the car and look forward to the first race of the upcoming season.
Ferrari has already secured a great performance improvement in recent seasons. The team could facilitate Hamilton to fight for his record-breaking eighth championship victory in Formula 1. However, the 40-year-old will have to go against Leclerc who is known for his superior one-lap pace over the Briton’s widely-known qualifying issues.
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Aditya Pandya
(1564 Articles Published)