Ferrari F1 2024 ‘transition’ theory debunked as Lewis Hamilton arrival looms

While Ferrari will welcome Lewis Hamilton into the team come 2025 in one of the biggest driver moves Formula 1 has seen, team boss Fred Vasseur insists their focus has not bypassed F1 2024.

The prospect of a Hamilton to Ferrari dream move had bubbled away for years with no signature coming to make it official, until now that is.

Before the F1 2024 campaign had got underway, the huge news broke that Hamilton had activated an exit clause in his Mercedes contract in order to join Ferrari for 2025, as the seven-time World Champion now prepares for one final season as part of the Mercedes team with which he has won six of his seven titles.

Full Ferrari focus on F1 2024 not Lewis Hamilton arrival

Additional reporting by Sam Cooper

Going out on a high is very much the goal for Hamilton in his final Mercedes season, while for Ferrari, the focus is also solely set on success in F1 2024, not looking forward to what is to come with Hamilton at the wheel.

Ferrari were the only non-Red Bull Grand Prix winning-team of 2023, courtesy of Carlos Sainz in Singapore, the driver who Hamilton will replace, and Vasseur has assured that full attention for the team is on F1 2024 and boosting their victory tally.

Asked by media including PlanetF1.com at the launch of Ferrari’s F1 2024 challenger, the SF-24, whether this season is one of ‘transition’ for the team, Vasseur replied: “No, this is wrong.

“2024 won’t be a transition year. It’s a quite important season for us and I’m fully focused on this.

“I think the best way to prepare something is to do a good job. It means that we are focussed on ’24, we want to get the best, we want to win races, we want to continue on the path of 2023, and we won’t be at all thinking about 2025.”

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Hamilton is just one key figure heading for Ferrari with the team reported to have lured away engineers from Red Bull, while Hamilton it is widely claimed will not head for Maranello without being flanked by fellow Mercedes defectors.

Gardening leave periods will influence how long it is before Ferrari can have them all at work, but Vasseur was asked whether Ferrari now has all the required ingredients to fight for titles, which will surely be Hamilton’s expectation.

However, Vasseur stressed that is is a never-ending story of progress in F1.

“I would say that by DNA, if you start to be happy with what you have, you are dead,” he said.

“It means that you need to be always in the mindset of continuous improvement, to try to work on your weaknesses, and to try to step on some areas.

“And so it’s a no-end project. For sure people are starting to join the team now, and this is good news. It’s day after day, I think we are reinforcing the team, we are making steps.

“But again, it’s not that tomorrow morning I will say now we are there, I’m happy with the situation. If you start to have this kind of approach, I think it’s the beginning of the end.”

Hamilton will find Charles Leclerc on the other side of the Ferrari garage upon his arrival, Leclerc having agreed a new deal shortly before Hamilton’s signature was confirmed.

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