Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc won’t be speaking to the press at tonight’s (Tuesday) Formula One launch event.
The Formula One world will be descending on the O2 Arena in London for the 2025 season’s curtain raiser.
It comes as part of the 75th-anniversary celebrations for Formula One, with all 10 teams set to reveal their new liveries for the upcoming campaign.
Teams will be hosting Q&A sessions prior to the liveries being revealed, but there won’t be any involvement from Ferrari’s side, as they’re choosing to sit out the press conference section.
The reason, as far as the Ferrari bigwigs are concerned, is clear. The day after the F1 75 event, Hamilton and Leclerc will take part in a shakedown for the new car.
Following that, there will be an opportunity for the media to speak to the Scuderia duo, with Ferrari deeming it unnecessary to host back-to-back press conferences on consecutive days.
Part of the thinking behind that decision was because a chunk of the questions aimed at Hamilton and Leclerc will likely focus around the performance of the new car.
As far as Hamilton is concerned, he’ll be hoping it proves the motor that powers him to a record-breaking eighth Drivers’ Championship title.
Hamilton is among the favourites heading into the season, whereas Ferrari are joint top of the odds list for the Constructors’ Championship title – a trophy they missed out on by 14 points last year.
And according to former Ferrari man Gerhard Berger, Hamilton winning the world title with the Italian outfit would go down as one of the greatest outcomes in Formula One history.
He told Auto Motor und Sport: “Yes. If Hamilton could become World Champion in a Ferrari, it would be the greatest thing that has ever happened in Formula 1 in terms of marketing.”
On Ferrari’s chances in general, the Austrian added: “I would put my money on Ferrari this season.
“I can’t say whether Hamilton or Leclerc will win the Drivers‘ or Constructors’ World Championship, but they will win a title. That’s my personal impression.
“Ferrari was almost always fast last year, with a few slip-ups. I trust Fred Vasseur to get this volatility out of the system. It took a while, but I think they are very close.”
The 2025 season gets underway from Australia in mid-March.