What would success look like? Key questions for Hamilton at Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton's determination to Ferrari is the azygous biggest storyline of the 2025 Formula 1 season.

The sport's biggest prima - the lone operator who genuinely transcends the athletics - has joined its astir iconic team, and involvement successful however their concern develops is stratospheric.

These are the cardinal questions arsenic Hamilton begins his caller adventure.

Hamilton signed with Ferrari successful January 2024, conscionable implicit six months aft sealing a caller declaration with Mercedes.

It was the talks implicit that caller Mercedes woody that led to the Ferrari move.

Mercedes wanted to connection Hamilton lone a one-year declaration - squad brag Toto Wolff was readying for the future. The seven-time satellite champion knew helium wanted to enactment successful F1 longer.

They compromised connected what is known arsenic a "one-plus-one" declaration - a steadfast woody for 2024 with an enactment for 2025.

But Mercedes' reticence to perpetrate to him led Hamilton to see his future. He had ever had a hankering aft driving for Ferrari and helium has a adjacent narration with their squad brag Frederic Vasseur, which dates backmost 20 years to their clip successful the inferior categories together.

Hamilton's azygous biggest ambition is to triumph the grounds eighth rubric of which helium feels helium was robbed by contention manager Michael Masi making up the rules and mishandling a precocious safety-car play in the 2021 rubric decider successful Abu Dhabi.

Mercedes had not furnished him with a car successful which helium could bash that since, truthful helium had plentifulness of doubts connected that front, too.

Hamilton approached Ferrari and the squad were keen to bash a deal. So erstwhile they offered him a longer declaration - astatine slightest to the extremity of 2026 - and a adjacent to 50% wage emergence to a reputed wage of 65m euros (£55m), it was a no-brainer.

The information that Ferrari had finished 2023 successful stronger signifier than Mercedes made the determination adjacent easier.

In 2024, Hamilton was comprehensively out-qualified by a team-mate for the archetypal clip successful his career, ending the play 19-5 down to George Russell successful their one-lap head-to-head, astatine an mean shortage of 0.171 seconds.

Although some won 2 races, Hamilton finished 22 points adrift successful the championship.

It was a confusing situation, due to the fact that successful 2022 and 2023, the 2 had been intimately matched successful qualifying, and 1 of them finished up successful the title 1 twelvemonth and the different the other.

The bottommost enactment is that Hamilton struggled with the characteristics of the 2024 Mercedes much than Russell.

The car had slow-corner understeer. The mode to counteract this was to descent the rear connected introduction to beforehand turn-in. But doing that generates rear tyre temperature, which reduces grip, a occupation that increases implicit time. Hamilton was little capable to woody with this than Russell.

On apical of this, determination is nary question that, frustrated by his qualifying deficit, Hamilton would sometimes propulsion excessively hard erstwhile it mattered close astatine the extremity of qualifying. That led to mistakes, which further harmed his performance.

The Mercedes engineers felt that determination was thing astir the wide characteristics of the existent procreation of cars and their ground-effect plan doctrine that does not wed arsenic good with Hamilton's benignant arsenic the erstwhile generations of cars.

But conscionable due to the fact that that was the lawsuit past twelvemonth does not mean it volition beryllium the aforesaid this twelvemonth astatine Ferrari. It whitethorn beryllium connected however the car behaves.

Equally, it's intolerable to cognize however overmuch of an effect science had - Hamilton had to bash a full twelvemonth with Mercedes, the longest play successful history, knowing helium was leaving astatine the extremity of the season, and with his bosom efficaciously already elsewhere.

Certainly Vasseur believes that is excessively important to ignore. And Hamilton is of the aforesaid opinion.

Hamilton turned 40 successful January and is the 2nd oldest operator successful F1.

Of course, diversion show declines implicit time, but Fernando Alonso - who is 3 and a fractional years older than Hamilton - insists his property is not a problem, and determination is nary grounds successful his lawsuit that it is.

Alonso is inactive performing astatine an highly precocious level, and produced immoderate outstanding drives past twelvemonth - arsenic helium did successful 2023, erstwhile again helium was older than Hamilton is now.

There is nary grounds oregon crushed to suggest Hamilton's property volition person a deleterious effect connected him.

Hamilton does not talk Italian. He is trying to learn, but it is improbable the information helium cannot talk the connection volition person a superior effect connected him.

For a start, each method debriefs successful Ferrari are conducted successful English. Vasseur besides does not talk Italian.

Michael Schumacher could not talk Italian - and helium won 5 satellite titles with Ferrari and is their astir palmy driver. Neither could Nigel Mansell. He won connected his debut with Ferrari, astatine the 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix. He became a people leader successful his 2 years with the squad and is inactive idolised arsenic 'Il Leone' (the Lion) now.

Vasseur says: "You cognize that 99% of the occupation is successful English. It's bully to talk a small spot of Italian for the mechanics and the narration successful the squad but I americium not definite it is important for the performance."

Hamilton's partner/rival successful the different Ferrari is Charles Leclerc, a 27-year-old from Monaco who has won 8 grands prix and acceptable 26 rod positions since joining the squad successful 2019.

Leclerc is simply a Ferrari protege - helium has been nurtured by the squad since helium was a teenager. He is richly talented and regarded arsenic perchance the fastest operator implicit 1 thigh successful F1 astatine the moment, and his vocation statistic backmost that up.

Leclerc does not person specified a large offset betwixt his qualifying and contention occurrence stats due to the fact that helium is atrocious astatine racing. He has it due to the fact that his quality and earthy velocity has often meant helium has qualified the car higher than its competitory level tin prolong implicit a contention distance.

Hamilton is besides a superb qualifier - helium holds the all-time grounds for rod positions. And successful galore ways the 2 drivers are precise similar. Both of them person an quality to nutrient 'wow' performances successful qualifying - laps that permission radical open-mouthed, thinking, 'where did that travel from?'

Hamilton mightiness person to judge that determination is simply a beardown accidental helium volition beryllium out-qualified by Leclerc implicit the season. But helium volition beryllium assured that what helium astir apt considers his greater race-craft and acquisition volition spot him done implicit a season.

He says: "Charles is precise professional, precise embedded successful this team. He is precise accelerated and I americium wholly alert of that. You person seen his qualifying laps.

"I told him successful Bahrain galore years agone (in 2019) helium had a agleam aboriginal up of him. It is not going to beryllium casual to bushed him. Especially successful his home. But we volition enactment unneurotic and person immoderate large races, I hope."

Hamilton cannot power whether Ferrari physique him a competitory car. And if they don't, the minimum that could beryllium considered occurrence would beryllium to travel retired connected apical against Leclerc.

But Hamilton has not gone to Ferrari to people a fewer podium finishes. He wants an eighth satellite title. He's assured helium and the squad tin bash it. And fixed his level of vocation success, and Ferrari's past successful F1, thing little than a title volition suffice.

He says: "This squad already has an insane bequest and are not abbreviated of championships they person won. They person a winning mentality successful their DNA.

"The contention is fierce. It is going to beryllium close. but I person a large team-mate, the vigor I person seen from the team, determination is magic here.

"It is going to instrumentality a batch of hard enactment and everyone is putting that in. But it is besides astir belief. Everyone successful this squad dreams of winning with Ferrari.

"I person worked with 2 title-winning teams before, I cognize what 1 looks and feels like. The passionateness is similar thing you person ever seen. They person got everything they request to triumph a championship. It is conscionable astir putting the pieces together."