From Bahrain to Bahrain. This weekend, F1 is about to return full circle, holding the fourth Grand Prix of 2025 in Bahrain, on the identical observe the place winter testing befell. Since then, there have been three races—on avenue circuits, quick tracks, and technical layouts. In brief, all doable circumstances have been coated: a assorted and helpful combine to get a transparent image of the pecking order. A destructive image for Ferrari which, after three race weekends, has clearly proven it’s removed from quick, nowhere close to the front-runners, nor in rivalry for poles or victories. Quite the opposite, the SF-25 fluctuates between being the third or fourth-best automotive on the grid. There’s no use beating across the bush: after the winter hype, the much-anticipated solutions from the observe have been disappointing for the Prancing Horse, and the Japanese GP confirmed past cheap doubt that the anticipated top-level efficiency is at present out of Ferrari’s attain.
A lot work to do…
The SF-25 struggles and has proven a weak correlation between simulations and on-track efficiency. In Suzuka, as in Melbourne and Shanghai, Ferrari upset as soon as once more, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton ending fourth and seventh in Mie, coping with a automotive that’s inconsistent however above all uncompetitive in numerous situations—considerably slower than McLaren, Pink Bull, and Mercedes (regardless of Leclerc’s try and make up for it). And to make issues worse, it’s a automotive that’s arduous to grasp and function. That is an unacceptable state of affairs for a staff with championship ambitions, one Ferrari should exit as quickly as doable—by persevering with to fine-tune the automotive (to unlock unexpressed potential) and accelerating growth to widen its working window and enhance its efficiency. Updates, notably to the ground and different areas, are anticipated as quickly as subsequent weekend in Sakhir.
Fred Vasseur, between rumors and stress: Leo Turrini speaks
It is a second of nice disappointment and dismay for Ferrari, which is struggling to return to phrases with this unexpectedly advanced image and is working to get better—one thing Leo Turrini commented on in his weblog “Profondo Rosso”, particularly in gentle of latest statements by Ferrari staff principal Fréd Vasseur. The Frenchman admitted that Bahrain affords an opportunity to measure progress since testing, in addition to a possibility to take steps ahead in optimizing the automotive’s stability and managing each element of the weekend.
“The Sakhir occasion has, bitterly, the flavour of yet one more ultimate examination. I gained’t dwell on the industrial-scale amount of rumors circulating behind the scenes: whether or not true or not, they’re the results of a frankly embarrassing begin to the season. Somewhat, if you know the way to learn between the traces, what’s attention-grabbing is the message despatched to the world by the nation parish priest. Fred Vasseur—no use denying it—resides by means of probably the most delicate second since changing Mattia Binotto. And he is aware of it completely effectively.”