
Ferrari Goes Against Lewis Hamilton's Wishes After Sad Confirmation
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Ferrari F1 driver Lewis Hamilton was dealt a massive blow after the Italian car manufacturer shut down the possibility of manual transmissions being used in their future road cars.
While the SF-25 has paddles and a clutch behind the steering wheel of the race car, new Ferrari road cars are only available with an automatic transmission.
The last Ferrari that came out with a manual transmission was the 2012 California model.
Ferrari's Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer, Enrico Galliera, recently stated that if someone wants a manual Ferrari, they should opt for a classic car.
Ferrari's British driver Lewis Hamilton in the paddock ahead of the third practice session for the Formula One British Grand Prix at the Silverstone motor racing circuit in Silverstone, central England, on July 5, 2025.
Ferrari's British driver Lewis Hamilton in the paddock ahead of the third practice session for the Formula One British Grand Prix at the Silverstone motor racing circuit in Silverstone, central England, on July 5, 2025.
Photo by"You missed it! The manual gearbox, we already have it, in many of our classic cars. You can go and drive our fantastic manual gearboxes on our fantastic events for our classic cars," Galliera said, according to EVO.
"Whoever wants to have this kind of classic experience, they can buy and restore our fantastic classics and come to our events. We have it, we push our clients to discover the beauty of driving a classic car.
"We offer Corsa Pilotti on classic cars because many people don't know how to use the manual cars. It's an important experience that we can offer on our classic cars for the time being."
When Hamilton joined Ferrari during the offseason, he told the media that he wanted to design a modern Ferrari F40, a car that he posed in front of during his Ferrari introduction.
He had a specific request for what the car needed:
"Baseline of an F40, with the actual stick shift. That's what I'm gonna work on for the next few years," Hamilton said.
It is possible that Ferrari allows Hamilton to have a custom, one-of-one model built just for him with the manual transmission, but the seven-time World Champion won't be able to buy one anytime soon.
Hamilton made the massive move from Mercedes to Ferrari over the offseason when he shocked the Formula 1 world and joined the most storied team on the grid.
He spent several seasons at Mercedes full of winning and dominance, but as the team prepared for their future, Hamilton saw an opportunity to leave the team to join the famous Scuderia.
His start to life at Ferrari hasn't netted a podium Grand Prix finish yet, but Hamilton remains committed and driven to win his eighth world title at the legendary team.
More F1 news: How Lewis Hamilton Made the F1 Movie Production More Expensive
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