Throughout the current 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship season, there have likely been several moments when Lewis Hamilton could not help but glance over toward the Mercedes Formula One Team’s garage with a sense of longing and reflection.
After spending a remarkable twelve consecutive seasons with Mercedes and securing six of his seven world titles with the Brackley-based team, Lewis Hamilton made the bold and career-defining decision to part ways with the Silver Arrows and join Scuderia Ferrari. His move to the Maranello-based outfit officially began with the start of the 2025 Formula 1 season. The British racing driver announced this significant shift in allegiance before the 2024 season had even commenced. While Lewis Hamilton was ultimately unable to secure one final championship crown during his farewell campaign with Mercedes, the veteran driver still delivered a handful of memorable performances that highlighted his enduring skill and competitive spirit.
Among the most notable achievements of his final year at Mercedes were Lewis Hamilton’s victories at the iconic Silverstone Circuit and the historic Spa-Francorchamps track. These triumphant moments served as fitting farewell gifts from the Mercedes team, led by Team Principal Toto Wolff, and reaffirmed Hamilton’s status as one of the sport’s greatest competitors. However, his much-anticipated debut season with Scuderia Ferrari has thus far not lived up to expectations.
At the midway point of the 2025 Formula One calendar, Lewis Hamilton is currently positioned sixth in the FIA Drivers’ Championship standings. Notably, he is still waiting to secure his first podium finish in a traditional Grand Prix format while excluding Sprint Race results. This performance stands in stark contrast to the high hopes that surrounded his switch to the legendary Italian squad. Despite the challenges, Ferrari remains committed to extracting more performance from the SF-25 chassis and is now preparing to introduce a potentially crucial technical update at the upcoming Belgian Grand Prix at Spa.
While several other teams across the grid have already shifted the majority of their development focus toward the sweeping regulation changes set to arrive in 2026, Scuderia Ferrari, under the leadership of Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur, continues to believe that there is more potential yet to be unlocked in the current car. According to a recent report published by Motorsport Italia, the latest development involves Ferrari taking a page out of Lewis Hamilton’s old playbook—by looking to his former team, Mercedes-AMG Petronas, for inspiration in the area of suspension design.
Scuderia Ferrari to Debut Mercedes-Inspired Rear Suspension Concept on Lewis Hamilton’s SF-25 at Spa-Francorchamps
The report by Motorsport Italia revealed that Ferrari’s engineering department is working diligently behind the scenes to roll out a redesigned rear suspension system for Lewis Hamilton’s SF-25 in time for the beginning of the second half of the 2025 Formula 1 season. This suspension update, which is expected to be introduced at the Belgian Grand Prix, appears to be inspired by a concept that Mercedes introduced at the 2024 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in Imola.
The redesigned suspension layout is being developed with the goal of improving overall mechanical grip and enhancing drivability, particularly for Lewis Hamilton’s driving style. Engineers believe the new geometry and setup will provide a more stable and predictable platform during heavy braking phases and under acceleration, as well as offering better handling through high-speed corners and improved control over bumps and kerbs. By allowing for stiffer and more aggressive mechanical setups, the car could be run at a lower ride height, enhancing its aerodynamic performance.
Lewis Hamilton has long favored cars that operate optimally when run close to the ground, believing that this approach offers the best balance of downforce and mechanical grip. However, this setup preference carries risks—earlier in the season, Hamilton was disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix due to excessive plank wear, a direct result of running the car too low and breaching the FIA’s technical regulations.
Given Lewis Hamilton’s extensive history at Mercedes, where he played a central role in shaping the team’s car development philosophy for over a decade, it is unsurprising that Ferrari is now looking to adopt certain design principles that were successful during Hamilton’s previous era of dominance. Ferrari engineers are not only hopeful that this upgrade will deliver immediate performance gains in the second half of the 2025 season, but also that the knowledge and data gained from this evolution will feed into the development of their 2026 challenger under the upcoming regulation overhaul.
Ferrari’s Suspension Design More Conservative Than Mercedes’, But Still a Step Forward
Although Scuderia Ferrari’s updated rear suspension system is based on a concept pioneered by Mercedes-AMG Petronas, the Motorsport Italia report notes that the Maranello team’s design is notably less radical. Ferrari is reportedly pursuing a more conservative implementation, primarily due to the structural constraints imposed by the SF-25’s existing gearbox architecture and the need to maintain reliability across long race distances.
Because the rear suspension must be properly integrated into the car’s existing layout without compromising structural integrity or triggering new mechanical issues, Ferrari’s solution is not as advanced as Mercedes’ 2025 suspension system. Nonetheless, the Scuderia believes that their more measured approach can still yield tangible performance improvements. By tightening the rear end’s responsiveness and improving setup flexibility, the team aims to provide both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc with a more confidence-inspiring and competitive car across a wide variety of circuits.
Scuderia Ferrari’s overarching goal is to consolidate its current standing in the FIA Constructors’ Championship. The Italian team is presently second in the points tally, but they remain under pressure from several closely-matched rivals. The high-speed Spa-Francorchamps circuit, home of the Belgian Grand Prix, will be a critical proving ground for the new upgrade. However, the team faces an added challenge due to the Grand Prix being a Sprint weekend—meaning Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will only have one hour of free practice to evaluate the suspension update before heading into Sprint Qualifying.
Lewis Hamilton, unfortunately, was unable to participate in Ferrari’s latest private testing session at the Mugello Circuit due to having already used up his allocated test days before the start of the 2025 season. In his absence, Charles Leclerc was tasked with evaluating the rear suspension and collecting as much performance data as possible. His feedback will play a vital role in determining whether the team feels confident in deploying the update during the race weekend at Spa.
Ferrari Facing Reliability Concerns and Potential Grid Penalties
Adding further complexity to the situation, Scuderia Ferrari is also facing growing concerns about the reliability of their current power unit components. Both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are reportedly approaching the limit of their permitted engine allocations under the FIA regulations. As a result, the risk of receiving grid penalties for using additional power unit elements looms large for both drivers.
To mitigate the risk of premature wear and potential failures, Ferrari’s engineers have instructed both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to adopt lift-and-coast strategies during races. This fuel and energy-saving technique involves easing off the throttle earlier before braking zones and is designed to reduce stress on the internal combustion engine and associated hybrid components. However, these measures come at the cost of outright lap time and limit the drivers’ ability to push the car to its limits—particularly frustrating given the introduction of a new rear suspension component designed to improve drivability and performance.
For Scuderia Ferrari, the stakes are clear. Enhancing the SF-25’s mechanical platform with a Mercedes-inspired rear suspension is a necessary step forward, but unless the team can simultaneously address power unit reliability, the full benefit of the update may never be realized on track. As the paddock prepares for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, all eyes will be on how Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc handle this pivotal race weekend, which could prove decisive in shaping the rest of Ferrari’s 2025 campaign and the development direction for 2026.
