Charles Leclerc given Ferrari SF-25 honour as Lewis Hamilton made to…read more
Charles Leclerc is set to be the first driver to test Ferrari’s new SF-25 car, with Lewis Hamilton scheduled to wait for his turn, according to recent reports. The SF-25, previously known as Project 677, will be officially unveiled by Ferrari on Wednesday morning before undergoing a shakedown at the team’s Fiorano test track. This event follows a series of shakedowns held by other F1 teams, including customer teams like Haas, Williams, and McLaren, which took place at Silverstone in recent days.
Leclerc, who is entering his seventh season with Ferrari, will take the first lap in the SF-25 at approximately 9:30 AM local time on Tuesday. Later in the day, Hamilton, the newly signed seven-time World Champion, will complete his first run in the 2025 car during the afternoon session. Both drivers will be limited to 100 kilometers of running with the SF-25, which will help them prepare for the official pre-season test in Bahrain.
For Hamilton, this marks a return to the Fiorano track, the same venue where he made his debut as a Ferrari driver in January, driving the team’s 2023 car. During that initial run, Hamilton completed 30 laps in damp conditions. As the team works on the SF-25 ahead of the 2025 season, both drivers will have the opportunity to test the car before the more extensive pre-season testing in Bahrain.
Ferrari had a strong 2024 season, finishing just 14 points behind Constructors’ Champions McLaren. Charles Leclerc and his teammate Carlos Sainz secured five victories, making the 2024 season one of Ferrari’s best in recent years. However, despite the success of the previous year’s car, Ferrari’s new SF-25 will be entirely different. Team principal Fred Vasseur recently confirmed that the SF-25 will be a “completely new” car, marking a fresh approach for the final year under the current technical regulations.
The SF-25 has been developed under the guidance of Loic Serra, the former Mercedes engineer who replaced Enrico Cardile as Ferrari’s technical director after Cardile left for Aston Martin in October. Serra’s connection to Hamilton is notable, as he worked with the British driver during Mercedes’ dominant years. One of the most significant changes in the SF-25 will be the return to a pullrod front suspension layout, a design choice not seen at Ferrari since 2015. This change aligns Ferrari with teams like McLaren and Red Bull, who have also adopted the pullrod suspension. This design is believed to offer a significant aerodynamic advantage by enhancing airflow to the car’s underbody, which plays a crucial role in generating downforce under F1’s ground-effect rules.
The SF-25 promises to bring several new features, setting Ferrari on a new path for the upcoming F1 season.
