Send us your questions on Hamilton's Ferrari debut!
Added 2025-01-22 09:17:53 +0000 UTCWe want your Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari questions!
Put them in the comments on this post and we’ll answer as many as we can across the video and podcasts we have planned to mark his big move kicking off properly with his first test at Fiorano.
Comments
Question for Edd: What is Hamilton's favourite shape of pasta? (Edd always says he gets so many good questions from The Race Members I thought I'd throw in a terrible one!)
Daniel Hayes
2025-01-22 20:50:55 +0000 UTCI've heard a lot of " This will be Hamilton's first time not using Mercedes power". Is it really that big of a deal to switch engines? I've never heard this topic brought up when other drivers have moved to teams with different PU's. manufacturers.
Jason Rhode
2025-01-22 20:41:24 +0000 UTCI have seen a lot of questions about whether Lewis made the right decision to go to Ferrari or if he should have stayed at Mercedes, but do you think he really even had a choice? It sounds like Mercedes wouldn't give Lewis a long term deal, and Toto has talked endlessly both about how good Antonelli is and how much he regrets not signing Max back in the day. If he didn't sign for Ferrari this year, they would have probably extended Carlos and Lewis would have lost his shot there for the next few years. I think it's possible Lewis could see himself getting pushed out of the team, and this was the only way to guarantee he could stay with a top team.
Marc Maier
2025-01-22 20:14:41 +0000 UTCWhat are the chances the Hamilton/Ferrari relationship ends in a massive meltdown (as is Ferrari tradition)?
Hugh
2025-01-22 18:56:44 +0000 UTCDo you believe Lewis has anything left to prove? Personally, I admire him taking on this challenge but know there are a number of people who think he is 'past it'. If he goes in and is outperformed by Charles then people will think he's washed up. If he challenges for wins and championships then many will just brush it off as expected, given his past success.
Ross Stevenson
2025-01-22 17:45:23 +0000 UTCWhy to do first test in fiorano? Wouldn't some proper track be better for the test? Or is fiarano just because nostalgic reasons?
Nikke_89
2025-01-22 14:49:41 +0000 UTCBased on your insights into Ferrari's operations and general approach to performance under Fred Vasseur's watch, how far do you think the team will go to accomodate Lewis, who as a seasoned champion is may be not as adaptable as a rookie and expects certain things from his team and car, even if that would mean compromising on pure performance?
Davy Coolen
2025-01-22 14:13:20 +0000 UTCFrom speaking to other drivers what’s the hardest part of adapting to Ferrari and their ways?
Ranchdingus
2025-01-22 13:24:22 +0000 UTCLets assume that Hamilton gets either whitewashed by Charles or completely dominates him. How is Ferrari prepared to handle both drivers in those extreme situations? And if they have a competitive car while Charles is going for the championship and Hamilton is struggling, will they be ready to turn Hamilton into the n2 driver, or will they be willing to sacrifice the drivers championship to avoid having a "favourite" driver?
André Pereira
2025-01-22 13:21:05 +0000 UTCAny driver going to a new team is going to say they are there to win the world championship. But what's the minimum outcome that Lewis should realistically target, based on him being new to the team, and bearing in mind Ferrari's recent performance levels?
Steve D
2025-01-22 12:47:25 +0000 UTCWith Leclerc being the incumbent driver, how will Ferrari approach car development with Hamilton joining the team? Will they take the Red Bull approach and fully favour one drive (i.e. Leclerc) or will they work equally with both.
Ollie Barker
2025-01-22 11:54:07 +0000 UTCI'm curious to know what you think the big operational differences will be for Lewis between Mercedes and Ferrari. Apart from the extended relationship with Bono (Peter Bennington) and the entire team at Mercedes, Lewis is moving to a culturally different team which will have their ways of working (like practice sessions, qualifying, race strategy management). What is noticeable from paddock interactions about the operational culture and differences that may be a challenge?
Alexander Law
2025-01-22 10:48:00 +0000 UTCHamilton had a famously unique grip on the top steering wheel at the start of races for Mercedes is this something we can see continuing at Ferrari or is the clutch placement on the Ferrari wheel not conducive or necessary for this hand placement?
Greg Eleftheriou
2025-01-22 10:46:27 +0000 UTCHow do Hamiltons and Leclercs driving styles compare? Are there certain characteristics of the Ferrari that could favor one over the other?
David Trippler
2025-01-22 10:38:28 +0000 UTCHow useful is it for Ferrari to have its own private test track and could you explain its configurations? Even in F1’s unlimited testing pomp I always thought the track looked unusually narrow and twisty and not very representative of any track on the calendar then or now.
Chris Parrott
2025-01-22 10:23:11 +0000 UTCIf Hamilton is close or even beats Leclerc in 2025; how will that impact on Leclerc and Russell's respective reputations and futures?
Sam Mallinson
2025-01-22 10:14:07 +0000 UTCI heard Ferrari created Lewis a steering wheel with the buttons in the same position as Mercedes to assist his adjustment, would this actually help him as I would of thought Ferrari had different button combinations to Mercedes so would this be of a benefit to him? And would they look to revert to a standard Ferrari set up in the future?
Ed R Gaming
2025-01-22 10:12:07 +0000 UTCWhat is known about the backstory on why Lewis has brought back Angela Cullen as his physio, or why she left in the first place? Curious if it was a team environment issue, but regardless can you compare and contrast the team environments at Ferrari and Mercedes?
928pilot
2025-01-22 10:11:52 +0000 UTCMy question is related to TPC running, so Hamilton running 2023 car will familiarise him with Steering wheel and other changes like power unit. My question is in sim running how much input.can drivers changing team provide. Say Lewis drives 2024 car and provides a feedback for change for 2025 How valuable do you feel that would be Or should Lewis adapt himself to current car alone and changes pertaining to that.
hari shankar
2025-01-22 10:07:46 +0000 UTCWhat’s your views on how much of a mental shift it will be for long-tenured Ferrari employees to throw their support behind Hamilton considering over his career (but particularly the hybrid era) he has essentially been their enemy number one? Clearly Ferrari recognise his ability (as they have hired him!) but is this likely to impact his internal support vs Leclerc?
Castrol
2025-01-22 10:06:17 +0000 UTCDo you guys see the hype and excitement behind this move driving Ferrari and Lewis to both get Lewis back to his best and tidy up the operational mishaps of Ferrari?
Ben K
2025-01-22 09:40:14 +0000 UTCHow do you think the Tifosi will take to Lewis? Obviously he will have global appeal to Ferrari (particularly in America) but how do you think the traditional Italian fanbase will react to him having for years viewed him as a bitter rival - they already have Charles as the quintessential 'european' Ferrari driver and poster boy - do you expect them to get behind Lewis in the same way? A take from an Italian journalist like you have done with Dutch and Mexican media for some Verstappen / Perez features would be really interesting!
Duncan Bertram
2025-01-22 09:39:29 +0000 UTCFrom what race on will we be expecting Hamilton to be comfortable in the Ferrari and can we truly criticise his performance?
Jannes
2025-01-22 09:37:03 +0000 UTCHe can at least check the steering wheel (Buttons & position of switches) get a feel for the engine and brakes. This is of more value on track then in the simulator.
Ben
2025-01-22 09:33:20 +0000 UTCWe all know Leclerc is quick, and he's got years of experience with the team. So it's not impossible he'll be significantly better than Hamilton for most of 2025. If that happens, do you think Hamilton will call it a day at the end of 2025? And if so, where do Ferrari turn next - Bearman, if he does well at Haas?
Jan Alexander
2025-01-22 09:33:08 +0000 UTCAs i was only 5 years old when Schumacher did his first test for ferrari: was that similarily anticipated as this first test of hamilton? I'd assume that today it's much more hyped because of the general attention f1 gets.
Ben
2025-01-22 09:32:01 +0000 UTCDo you genuinely see this working for Hamilton? There's no denying his brilliance, but he's 40 and up against Charles Leclerc at 27 entering his peak years. I can see him bagging wins, but expect Leclerc to be faster most of the time.
Alex Morris
2025-01-22 09:31:47 +0000 UTCFrom technical/feedback point of view, is there any real value for the driver and team when testing an old car? Would it not be better only try the new car in a simulator?
Peter Selecký
2025-01-22 09:26:34 +0000 UTCMy question calls for speculation: How will Lewis' stint at Ferrari impact on his legacy, regardless if his time there proves to be a success or if it becomes a damp squib?
Michael Holden
2025-01-22 09:26:13 +0000 UTC
