Ferrari scored a big win even before the current F1 2024 season started. With a promise to pay an eye-watering amount of $100 million per year, the team took on Lewis Hamilton for a multi-year contract. With seven World Championships to his name and a hunger to take that count to eight, Hamilton can be the beacon Ferrari needs to get back to its winning ways. The last time the Italian team had seen the face of a World Constructors’ Championship was in 2008. But, now, under Frederic Vasseur’s leadership, it looks like the Scuderia is up in arms to beat its rivals and claim an F1 win soon.

But forming a dream team with Hamilton and Charles Leclerc is not the only step in Vasseur’s plan. The French team principal is aware that he needs to change his squad’s entire approach to compete with the likes of Mercedes and Red Bull. As a Silver Arrows racer for 12 long years, Hamilton has enjoyed a commanding position where his crew has paid attention to his instructions and worked accordingly. At Ferrari, he will be a newcomer and the stark change in command might be a bold start for him. But Vasseur has vowed that his team will be more open to new challenges now as the traditional Ferrari mindset has not worked for them in 16 years.

Thus, as the 2025 season looms closer, Fred Vasseur has revealed what stays on his agenda. He told Formula Passion, “If I have to be proud of something, it’s not the result, that’s just a consequence. It’s the fact that everyone is more willing to take risks, and a little less scared. We’re trying to change the mentality a little bit: to win you have to take risks. It’s probably also the DNA of Red Bull. That’s where we have to take a step forward.”

Well, as they say, acknowledging the problem is the first step towards solving it. While Vasseur seems more prepared than ever to vy for the World Championships next year, what role does Lewis Hamilton have to play in Ferrari’s future?

Lewis Hamilton is already leaving a mark on Ferrari

As Ferrari is preparing for a new face of the squad in 2025, some details on their race car for the next season have come out. As per the reports, it will be the first time that the Scuderia will have pull-rod front suspensions on its cars for Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. Hamilton has used this technology at Mercedes already, and his entry into Ferrari might have inspired the team to take up this route. In the current FIA era of ground-effect cars, Ferrari’s suspension techniques have come under public scrutiny frequently.

Only Ferrari and Haas remain as the only team that uses pull-rod rear suspension as of now. From next year, Ferrari might make the switch to pull-rod front suspension too. Apart from this, the team might also get a revised wheelbase to have a more advanced center of pressure. With these changes, Lewis Hamilton’s future team aims to get the aerodynamic advantage that Red Bull and McLaren (the frontrunners of 2024) are currently enjoying. Experts have also claimed that Ferrari will need an entirely new chassis for next year if they really plan to execute their pull-rod front suspension strategy.

Thus, with a new car and a new racer, fans will find Ferrari going for the Championships next year. But do you think these bold changes are a leap of faith or are they just Fred Vasseur’s desperate attempt at trying to win a Formula 1 title? Share your take in the comments below.