Lewis Hamilton has been dealt a blow ahead of this weekend's season-opening Australian Grand Prix, with Ferrari's expected pace having been revealed by Formula 1.
During a technical preview of the 2025 F1 season, Ferrari has been judged as being 0.461s slower per lap than McLaren.
A major advantage for McLaren has been outlined, with the Woking-based team expected to be over three tenths of-a-second quicker than every other outfit.
Red Bull are expected to be McLaren's closest competition, but still 0.304s slower per lap.
Concerningly for Hamilton, the Scuderia have been placed in fourth in the initial pecking order, behind Mercedes in third.
The seven-time world champion's former team is expected to be 0.358s slower per lap than McLaren, but 0.103s faster than Ferrari.
Despite Williams' Carlos Sainz having set the fastest lap during pre-season testing in Bahrain, Alpine has been placed as the top midfield team.
Alpine are expected to be 0.631s down on McLaren, narrowly ahead of Williams are predicted to be 0.687s slower every lap.
Stake F1 are the only outfit predicted to be over one-second slower than McLaren every lap, highlighting the tough season ahead of Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto.
Check out the expected pace table below!
Expected pace
| Pos. | Team | Loss per lap |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLaren | 0.000 |
| 2 | Red Bull | +0.304 |
| 3 | Mercedes | +0.358 |
| 4 | Ferrari | +0.461 |
| 5 | Alpine | +0.631 |
| 6 | Williams | +0.687 |
| 7 | Haas | +0.842 |
| 8 | Aston Martin | +0.853 |
| 9 | Racing Bulls | +0.944 |
| 10 | Stake F1 | +1.235 |
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