Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari challenge "shouldn’t be underestimated," says F1 insider

Leaving Mercedes was never going to be an easy task for Lewis Hamilton. After 12 years with the team, he's not only parting ways with familiar faces and procedures, but he's bidding farewell to a Mercedes power unit that has seen him through 356 race starts.

Former Aston Martin strategist and Sky Sports F1 pundit Bernie Collins has weighed in on the impact of this change on The Red Flags podcast, admitting that she believes this will be one of his greatest challenges during his first season with Ferrari.

Hamilton's move from Brackley to Maranello for the 2025 F1 season represents one of the biggest team changes in the sport's history. While much of the discussion has focused on the emotional implications of leaving a team he dominated with for over a decade, a less visible yet equally important challenge lies in his adaptation to the Scuderia's power unit—a powertrain significantly different from the Mercedes engines that pulled him through seven world championships.

The Briton's tenure at the Toto Wolff-led outfit ran parallel to a strong development of the hybrid power unit. The Mercedes V6 hybrid engine, introduced in 2014 and mated to a chassis which allowed the driver to reach his full potential, was a masterclass in powertrain design. Of course, reliability was an issue from the onset, with just 93 full laps completed in pre-season testing in 2014 compared to 1,358 in 2020, but the German marque was the clear authority.

Ferrari wasn't far behind, with Sebastian Vettel making strong use of Italian machinery following aerodynamic changes in 2017. I won't mention 2020.

Red Bull also got it right, resulting in the first six years of the V6 hybrid era being dominated by these three teams alone.

But while us mere mortals don't see any real difference while we watch from home, each power unit, unsurprisingly, is incredibly different.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari SF25

Photo by: Erik Junius

“I think it’s going to be a really interesting one to watch,” Collins said on Hamilton's move to Ferrari. “I think the challenge of Lewis stepping into a Ferrari shouldn’t be underestimated.

“He’s never driven a Ferrari engine so real simple things like how the engine works, how the modes work, how the harvesting works, how the deployment works. They’re all different."

On top of the major differences, simple changes like the steering wheel layout adds to the learning curve.

“We hear different terminology on the radio. Where he instinctively pushes the buttons is going to be different. So I think there’s going to be big differences in the car that’s going to be a challenge for Lewis.”

The celebrated pundit remains confident in Hamilton as he joins Charles Leclerc in red.

“He’s going to enjoy it, embrace it,” she said. 

“I think Lewis really embraces a challenge. He does his best work when he’s being pushed quite hard.

“But again, it’s going to be this big shift in culture. Ferrari operate quite differently I think. Different personnel, engineers. Can Lewis take the step in qualifying to make sure he’s there on race day to get the right decisions come his way?

“He’s been part of a team like Mercedes have totally worked around a team for such a long time and it’s suddenly not his team anymore. I am excited to see how it pans out.”

Fortunately for Hamilton, there's only one more year of the current power unit before the 2026 regulation change takes effect.

With 50% of its power coming from the electric motor, every driver will be confronted with a vastly different driving experience.