There’s a recurring query among the many followers of the Prancing Horse: why did Ferrari fully overhaul the format of the automotive after ending second within the 2024 Formulation 1 Constructors’ Championship, simply 14 factors behind McLaren? Within the final yr of the bottom impact rules, the Italian facet determined to revamp its automotive, introducing 99% new parts in keeping with Ferrari staff principal Frederic Vasseur himself.
This difficulty has been broadly debated not solely on social media but in addition amongst varied insiders: why wasn’t the SF-24 improvement continued, particularly contemplating it completed final season near the McLaren vehicles, whereas the SF-25, after three races, has plummeted to fourth place among the many high groups, with a drastic drop in competitiveness?
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have already accrued a 76-point deficit to McLaren within the Constructors’ Championship forward of the Bahrain Grand Prix, having scored solely 35 factors to this point in comparison with 111 from the Woking staff, whereas Mercedes has earned 75 factors and Crimson Bull, which runs just one automotive within the high 10, Max Verstappen‘s, has accrued 61 factors. There couldn’t have been a worse begin for the Maranello staff, however the Italian facet by no means thought-about deploying a “carry over” automotive.
The arrival of Lewis Hamilton was a further push to intention for a leap in high quality, with the idea that Ferrari might intention for 2 World Championships earlier than the drastic regulatory modifications anticipated for the 2026 Formulation 1 season.
So why was the 2025 automotive redesigned? The reply may be very easy: the SF-24 had only a few potentialities for aerodynamic enchancment and its improvement would have been restricted in comparison with the evolution that rivals had deliberate.
The selection, due to this fact, was proper, and within the 2025 finances cap, a big quantity was allotted to approve a brand new chassis with the cockpit moved additional again and a shorter, sleeker gearbox.
The thought was to shift the load distribution barely towards the rear as a way to provide extra freedom to the aerodynamic staff led by Diego Tondi. The SF-25 single-seater was designed to be underneath the load restrict of 800 kilograms to have the choice of reaching the proper steadiness by introducing ballast within the entrance wing, permitting the 0.5% weight distribution tolerance permitted by the rules to be adjusted as desired.
Moreover, the aerodynamic division had requested the chassis chief, Fabio Montecchi, to change from the normal push rod entrance suspension to a pull rod system, already in use by Crimson Bull and McLaren. The wants, due to this fact, weren’t mechanical however stemmed from the idea that wind tunnel testing might yield extra downforce for efficiency.
And evidently, the info rising from the winter simulations needed to be optimistic in comparison with the SF-24, fueling the championship hopes that have been repeatedly raised by the drivers and staff leaders.
In China and Japan, we noticed F1 vehicles that have been about 1.5 seconds quicker than the earlier yr, which is a large enchancment contemplating that, normally, by the tip of a regulatory cycle, just a few tenths are discovered as a result of groups are already scraping the barrel with mature vehicles. Nevertheless, the home of playing cards started to break down through the preseason testing session on the Bahrain Worldwide Circuit, when it turned clear that McLaren was extra aggressive and Ferrari was struggling.
Initially, consideration was targeted on the pull rod suspension: with the brand new setup, there may need been a necessity to regulate the setup, as very completely different stiffness changes are required. However the “difficulty” with the SF-25 automotive was not discovered there. Observers then shifted their focus to the rear finish, pointing to the transmission: the miniaturized carbon gearbox might undergo damaging torsions, stopping the rear from being sufficiently stiff to make the automotive responsive in course modifications, leading to annoying understeer that was closely criticized by the drivers.
The Ferrari SF-25 automotive was designed to be targeted on the entrance, as each Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton favor, with nice nook entry, however in actuality, it has considerably improved in high-speed sections, due to good aerodynamic effectivity, whereas it has misplaced its traction and dealing with in low-speed corners.
So, what’s lacking for Ferrari? One may say the aerodynamic downforce that presses the automotive onto the observe floor and generates the power to switch to the tires. With out sufficient downforce, the staff is pressured to make use of minimal floor clearance, figuring out that the nearer the automotive is to the bottom, the extra the ground can create downforce. However the put on on the plank must be taken into consideration: the FIA permits consumption of 1 of the ten mm thickness of the plank, after which disqualifications are triggered, as occurred to Lewis Hamilton in China.
Past the embarrassment {that a} prestigious staff like Ferrari shouldn’t permit, it’s evident that discovering fast countermeasures shouldn’t be straightforward. The primary improve bundle for the SF-25 was scheduled for Imola, on the debut of the European season, however after the Sakhir checks, it’s potential that the event plans have been introduced ahead primarily based on what emerged from the wind tunnel work.
So, we are able to anticipate modifications to the ground in Bahrain, together with different particulars, however it’s onerous to suppose the hole to the MCL39 and the improved Crimson Bull will be closed in a single go, as a result of the 3-4 tenths hole shouldn’t be straightforward to scale back, as others received’t stand nonetheless both.
— see video above —
Purchase official Ferrari F1 merchandise!
Let different Scuderia Followers learn about us
