Ferrari’s major change for 2025 amid Lewis Hamilton’s complaints

Despite getting back to winning ways at the British and Belgium Grand Prix, the 2024 season was a terrible year for Lewis Hamilton in what has been an exceptional career at Mercedes for 11 years.

The seven-time world champion, who won six titles with Mercedes, finished seventh in the Drivers' Championship with 223 points, sitting behind his teammate George Russell in sixth place, who finished with 245 points, per the F1 website.

Having been out-qualified by Russell in 19 races in 2024, Hamilton admitted he is 'not fast anymore' in the campaign's closing weeks, but there are hopes he can rejuvenate his career when he moves to Ferrari this year.

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In February 2024, Hamilton announced he left Mercedes to join the 'Prancing Horse' for the 2025 season. Ferrari has created an entirely new car in line with the FIA's mandatory regulations to suit Hamilton ahead of the car's unveiling on February 19th.

According to Motorsport, Ferrari's new 2025 car, codenamed Project 677, has unconfirmed rumors that the car's cockpit has been moved further back compared to last year's SF-24 for improved weight distribution and help tire management.

It is unclear what the primary reason for moving the cockpit further back is, but Lewis Hamilton could have had a direct influence on the change after cockpit positioning proved to be a major irritation for the British driver in his final season at Mercedes.

According to PlanetF1, speaking at the Australian Grand Prix in 2024, Hamilton outlined how uncomfortable it is to sit too close to the front wheels, explaining he would have had it changed if he had known how bad it was.

Hamilton said: "We sit closer to the front wheels than all the other drivers. Our cockpit is too close to the front. When you're driving, you feel like you're sitting on the front wheels, which is one of the worst feelings to feel when driving a car."

"If you were driving your car at home and put the wheels right underneath your legs, you would not be happy when you're approaching the roundabout. It changes the car's attitude and how you perceive its movement, making it harder to predict when you're further back and sitting closer, more center."

"I listened to the team; that was the direction they said we should go. Had I known the feeling that I would have in it, it wouldn't have happened. And it has to change for the future, 100 percent."

Due to the reported change in cockpit positioning, the car has returned to pull rod front suspension for the first time since 2015. This suspension enhances airflow to the car's underbody, with the floor generating a significant proportion of its overall downforce.

Hamilton is said to have directly instigated the move towards the pull rod front suspension as he attempts to build his perfect car for the 2025 season. Can he win a record-breaking eighth title in Ferrari red?

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