Lewis Hamilton F1 News: Ferrari 2025 seat change ‘unveiled’ after public complaints

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Social, Photoshop — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Ferrari 2025 seat change ‘unveiled’ after public Hamilton complaints

Lewis Hamilton is now officially a Ferrari driver

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Friday 3 January 2025 21:56 Updated: 22:44

A major change has reportedly been made to Lewis Hamilton's first Ferrari Formula 1 car, according to Italian media.

Hamilton is heading to Maranello for the 2025 season and beyond, having announced his move before the start of last season.

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The move has now officially taken place, with Ferrari welcoming the seven-time champion to the team via social media, and Hamilton releasing his first official statement as a Ferrari driver via an inspirational message on his LinkedIn page.

Hamilton has left behind the Mercedes team with whom he claimed six drivers' championship titles and 84 grands prix victories.

Lewis Hamilton is now officially a Ferrari driver

Lewis Hamilton and Fred Vasseur previously worked together in GP2

When will Hamilton make his Ferrari debut?

Attention has now switched to when Hamilton might make his Ferrari debut, with the first race of the new season at the Australian Grand Prix fast approaching.

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur recently suggested Hamilton may be able to make use of the Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) programme to make his debut on the private Fiorano track sometime in January, although the exact date of the appearance is so far dependent on the weather.

The official F1 pre-season test takes place in Bahrain in February, and Hamilton is also expected to be present for that.

Now, it appears the 39-year-old will be driving a car supposedly more fitting to his needs, following some public complaints made during his last couple of seasons with Mercedes.

Hamilton bemoaned his seat position at times in 2023 and 2024, claiming that he was sat too far forward in his cockpit, admitting he struggled with the issue consistently. Hoping to ensure that this isn't a problem for the seven-time champion in 2025, Ferrari have reportedly acted to change the seat on their own machinery.

Motorsport Italy have suggested that Ferrari's 2025 challenger, so far codenamed project 677, will have the passenger compartment moved further back with a shorter gearbox which will hopefully make Hamilton feel more comfortable in the car.

The publication also reported that the car passed its first crash test, with Vasseur already confirming that radical changes have been made to the 2025 car compared to the 2024 challenger, ahead of Hamilton's eagerly awaited arrival.