Juan Pablo Montoya thinks Lewis Hamilton’s arrival has forced Ferrari into one important change

Follow us on Google Discover

Lewis Hamilton is weeks away from his official debut as a Ferrari Formula 1 driver at the Australian Grand Prix.

It’s a moment which has been over one year in the making, ever since Hamilton announced his shock departure from Mercedes before the start of the 2024 season.

Ferrari are in the strongest position that they have been in for a while and look to be a real contender for the drivers’ championship.

They finally have a superstar line-up as their seven-time champion driver pairs up with hometown hero and two-time Italian Grand Prix winner Charles Leclerc.

Anthony Davidson has warned Hamilton of a difficult Ferrari challenge as he adapts to a new power unit for the first time in his career.

2025 will mark the first time in his 18-year Formula 1 career that he hasn’t been powered by Mercedes, which means he will have to adjust the driveability and power delivery of his new engine.

Juan Pablo Montoya thinks Ferrari have changed ‘focus’ after Lewis Hamilton’s arrival

It’s going to take some time for Hamilton to adjust to his new surroundings and machine before he is capable of being a contender at every race weekend.

Eddie Jordan has urged Leclerc to get on his bike against Hamilton and build an advantage early in the season if he wants to beat him throughout a 24-race campaign.

Their first taste of the SF-25 will come at the Fiorano circuit on February 19, just one day after the F175 live show at London’s O2 Arena.

READ MORE: Ferrari made ‘extreme’ change to Lewis Hamilton’s car at Pirelli test in Barcelona

Juan Pablo Montoya believes that the Italian team have changed their focus after Hamilton’s arrival and that priority may not sit with Leclerc this season.

“It could be a little bit of an [awkward] thing how everything is going to happen at Ferrari. Everything was always that they wanted Charles to do well. Now they are really going to want Lewis to do well.

“Personally, I don’t think that you being Ferrari, are going to hire Lewis Hamilton and you are going to do tests and everything and you are going to focus more on Charles’ needs than on what you need.”

How Lewis Hamilton fared against Charles Leclerc in Ferrari’s Pirelli tyre test

Both drivers returned to action after Hamilton’s first Ferrari crash during Barcelona testing for another day of action gathering data on Pirelli’s 2026 tyres.

They were joined by McLaren who sent Lando Norris on track on his own to complete a mega 159 laps of running in an older car.

Hamilton and Leclerc’s best times in Ferrari’s Barcelona test were over seven-tenths slower than what Norris managed, but there’s little context behind how those laps were set.

READ MORE: Ferrari have just decided to take a ‘calculated risk’ with one part of Lewis Hamilton’s 2025 F1 car

Perhaps more significant was that the Brit managed to go just over one-tenth faster than his new teammate, despite completing the same number of laps (Hamilton 87 vs Leclerc 86).

It’s a promising sign ahead of the pre-season test at Bahrain’s Sakhir circuit in two weeks, where Ferrari will be hoping to hit the ground running with a new car which has been overhauled this winter.