How Hamilton has changed his Ferrari F1 steering wheel to be like Mercedes’

Lewis Hamilton has made notable adjustments to his Ferrari Formula 1 steering wheel layout – incorporating button shifts and clutch and gearbox paddle changes that retain familiarity from his long stint at Mercedes.

The changes are all part of Hamilton’s adjustment to life at the Scuderia ahead of the 2025 F1 campaign, with the Italian team working hard to get him comfortable with its systems.

This will be the first time in Hamilton’s 19-season F1 career that he has not raced using a Mercedes-powered car and since the turbo hybrid era began in 2014, engine power delivery is even more tightly twinned with steering wheel systems than ever before in grand prix racing.

When he joined Mercedes back in 2013, Hamilton claimed the steering wheel design he found on arrival from McLaren was “way too complex” and got the Silver Arrows to rearrange its design – before he introduced one that was even further different in 2014 at the start of his run to six of his seven titles.

Now, the same process with Ferrari has led to a change in design compared to that used by Charles Leclerc – albeit most significantly at the back of the wheel, while the front-facing layout remains similar to that of his new team-mate.

Ferrari has always tried to accommodate a driver’s request when it comes to adjusting to its car systems and operations procedures, both in terms of steering wheel shape and software composition.

This process was particularly evident during Sebastian Vettel’s time at the Scuderia between 2015 and 2020, as he requested such changes on multiple occasions.

The steering wheel Hamilton and Leclerc will use this year at Ferrari originates from the design created based on Vettel’s inputs.

However, modifications have been made to the front-facing button layout and the two paddles used for gear shifting and clutch control to ensure Hamilton finds the best possible feeling without losing certain habits from his ultra-successful past at Mercedes.

When observing Hamilton’s steering wheel from the rear (see the above illustration), noticeable differences can be seen compared to Leclerc’s version.

These differences largely stem from design choices developed at Mercedes and it’s not unusual for a driver to bring in certain characteristics from the steering wheels they used for previous teams – as this helps with muscle memory operations when competing at speed.

For example, on the altered Ferrari design for Hamilton, the gear paddle has been completely revised and has a significantly different shape.

Mercedes W14 steering wheel detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

It has thinner levers positioned higher, resembling a design Hamilton approved at Mercedes, with the outer edge coated with a different material to improve grip.

Leclerc, meanwhile, will continue using the same layout he has been accustomed to since his Ferrari debut in 2019. His paddles are larger and positioned lower – almost entirely behind the steering wheel spokes.

Since 2019, Hamilton has been used to managing the Mercedes clutch with a single paddle, and he has implemented the same configuration on his new Ferrari steering wheel.

However, there are differences compared to Leclerc’s paddle, not only in the casing where the fingers rest, but also in the paddle itself.

Hamilton’s clutch paddle closely resembles the one he had at Mercedes.

His finger casing is also different from that of Leclerc, as it has been custom-made using 3D printing to fit Hamilton’s different needs.

The changes to the clutch paddle and gear paddle are the most significant hardware modifications, as the front of the steering wheel remains physically unchanged compared to the one Leclerc uses.

Comparison of Ferrari 2025 steering wheels – front

Photo by: Gianluca D’Alessandro

But what has changed here is the layout of the buttons and rotary dials, and it seems Hamilton has acted again to replicate certain muscle memories acquired with the Mercedes steering wheel.

This is likely because Ferrari’s engine operation follows a philosophy quite different from that of Mercedes, especially regarding the lower selectors on the steering wheel.

Ferrari’s wheel features six of these, whereas Mercedes combined them into three rotary dials with multiple sub-menus for a driver to scroll through quickly.

Focusing on the upper section (above), Hamilton has relocated the ‘charge’ button for battery recharging to the top left, alongside the button for navigating sub-menus (10-) and the neutral gear button.

Below the charge button is the DRS button, which Hamilton also had in the front section of his Mercedes steering wheel.

On the right side sits the ‘Pit Confirm’ button (pressed by a driver to confirm a pitstop often before entering the pitlane), another navigation button (1+), the speed limiter for the pitlane and the radio activation button.

Hamilton has also opted to position the K1 button (which activates the engine’s electric boost) at the front.

Another interesting aspect is the layout of the differential settings, engine braking, and brake balance controls, which replicate what Hamilton was used to in F1 until this year.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

The rotary dial for entry differential settings is at the top left, while the high-speed differential (HS – High Speed) is at the top right.

On the left side, next to the display, is the ‘brake migration’ control for adjusting braking, while on the right side sits the brake balance control.

This leads to an intriguing observation: Hamilton has seemingly relocated the electrical system management (SOC) to the lower part of the steering wheel—something no Ferrari driver has done since 2015.

The steering wheel’s screen software has also apparently been updated to feature a different layout for data display regarding engine and tyre condition (amongst other functions) compared to how Leclerc prefers to see such information when on track.

Discussing his new Ferrari steering wheel ahead of F1 winter testing in Bahrain last week, Hamilton acknowledged “it’s rare that you jump in and it just fits” as at his new team “for example, the steering was completely different”.

“All the switch settings are completely different,” he added. “The software is different and everything. I am adapting to a car that’s made quite differently to what I’ve worked with in the past.”

Hamilton’s steering wheel changes were also spotted by Haas rookie Oliver Bearman, as the American team uses the same Ferrari-built systems under its technical partnership arrangement with the Scuderia.

But Bearman said he had taken a personal interest in seeing Hamilton’s new design early.

“I was interested,” he explained in Bahrain. “I knew he would change a few things on the steering wheel. It happens every year. And I was watching what changes he’s made more out of interest. I’m a bit of a nerd on that side of things.”

Additional reporting by Oleg Karpov