Ferrari Chassis Technical Director Loic Serra could be key to improving the Formula 1 qualifying performance of former Mercedes colleague Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton’s time in F1’s ground effect era has been a rollercoaster.
The all-time record holder for wins went without a victory in 2022 and ’23 before taking victories at Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps in his final campaign with Mercedes in 2024.
However, his return to winning ways was blighted by a 19-5 thumping in qualifying at the hands of team-mate George Russell.
Hamilton’s qualifying struggles led to him exclaiming “I’m definitely not fast anymore” and brought an end to a difficult final three years with the Three Pointed Star.
A three throughout those three years was Hamilton’s ill feeling towards the cars he was charged with driving, especially the zero-pod concept that Mercedes adopted in 2022 and the start of ’23.
This was a view shared by Serra, who departed Mercedes last April ahead of his switch to Ferrari, walking through the doors at Maranello in October.
Serra is leading a technical group comprised of: Diego Tondi (Head of Aerodynamics), Fabio Montecchi (Head of Chassis Project Engineering) and Marco Adurno (Head of Vehicle Performance).
Serra and company are busy finalising development on the 2025 F1 challenger, codenamed Project 677.
Ferrari working to exploit new Pirelli tyres
According to the Italian arm of Motorsport.com, Serra has been working hard to conduct “maximum exploitation” of the new 2025 Pirelli tyres.
Ferrari struggled to extract ultimate pace over the course of a single lap with the SF-24 being far better suited to race conditions
Further changes being implemented by Serra include reverting to pull-rod front suspension for the first time since 2015.
It is said that this is being done thanks to Hamilton and Charles Leclerc enjoying a similar driving style, thus prompting a development path to suit both drivers.
Hamilton must recover qualifying form to challenge Leclerc at Ferrari
Should Serra’s technical expertise improve Ferrari’s speed across a single lap, Hamilton must exploit this.
Despite having 104 GP poles to his name, Hamilton has scored just one across the last three seasons in the ground effect era (Hungary, 2023).
Leclerc, meanwhile, has achieved 17 pole positions across that same period.
While Hamilton has retained all of his race pace prowess, evident from his 10th to second charge in Las Vegas, Leclerc has showcased his race management is up there with the best in F1.
The Monegasque’s one-stop charge to victory at Monza in 2024 shows he’s a force to be reckoned with in both qualifying and GPs.
So, with Ferrari’s blockbuster duo appearing closely matched in race conditions, Hamilton will need to rediscover his qualifying pace to avoid a repeat of 2024.
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