Ferrari group principal Fred Vasseur says Lewis Hamilton might want to lean on his expertise as he’s confronted with a difficult stint to be totally ready for his debut with the group in 2025.
Hamilton will be part of Ferrari subsequent season after bringing his time with Mercedes to an finish, marking solely the second group transfer of his Components 1 profession and the primary time he’ll race exterior of a Mercedes-powered group. With pre-season testing starting on Feb. 26 and Ferrari launching its 2025 automotive per week earlier, Vasseur says there’s solely a small window for Hamilton turn into embedded throughout the Scuderia.
“It’s at all times a problem, ranging from the start of January till the launch of the season on the 18th of February in London, and we are going to do the [2024 car] launch the nineteenth in Maranello,” Vasseur stated. “It means it’s crucial that you’ve solely six weeks — it’s not straightforward. However he’s additionally coming along with his personal expertise — he’s not Rookie of the 12 months — so I’m not frightened in any respect about this.
“It’s additionally the continuity of the earlier rules and which means now we have some reference. I’m not frightened, but it surely’s true that it’s a problem. For those who think about that you could possibly go to Bahrain and have a sandstorm, as we had a few years in the past, it’s robust, but it surely’s robust for everyone on the grid. We all know that now we have solely three days there.”
Ferrari plans on operating Hamilton throughout some testing of earlier automotive (TPC) days, however a agency date for a primary outing has not been set as a consequence of uncertainty over the climate in January. Vasseur says there can be no particular public welcoming occasion for the seven-time world champion, such is the necessity to spend time getting ready for the opening rounds.
“Now we have to be targeted on the season,” he stated. “As we stated earlier than, will probably be a really tight interval between the primary day and launch — it’s a matter of weeks and I need to have all people give attention to efficiency.
“It means that we’ll have the launch of the championship, we can have the launch of the automotive. For me, it’s already two occasions, and it’s far an excessive amount of! I need to be targeted on improvement, efficiency and to not do the present.”
