Change everything, only to change nothing. Despite the high expectations surrounding the debut of Ferrari’s new rear suspension and floor at Spa-Francorchamps, the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix weekend has, so far, delivered little satisfaction for the Maranello-based team. Hopes had been high that these upgrades would unlock significant performance gains from the SF-25, helping Ferrari make a decisive step forward and establish itself as the second force on the grid behind Red Bull Racing—especially challenging McLaren on a regular basis.
The idea was that the updated components would help Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton stay within striking distance of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, aiming for consistent top-three finishes. However, in practice, reality did not match the theory.
During both the Sprint Shootout qualifying session and the actual Sprint Race, Ferrari remained the third-fastest team on track, trailing behind both McLaren and Red Bull Racing. The SF-25 struggled to match the pace of the frontrunners, with an average gap of approximately half a second per lap. The car displayed ongoing difficulties in tyre management and overall balance, performing inconsistently across various track conditions. At no point did it appear capable of fighting for top positions.
Lewis Hamilton, in particular, endured a frustrating outing. After a poor qualifying result on Friday, the British driver found himself stuck in the midfield with little opportunity to recover. It was another difficult day for the seven-time world champion, who continues to adapt to the Ferrari package in his first season with the Scuderia.
While these results do not constitute a definitive failure of the new technical components, they also do not present them as a silver bullet. Integrating and optimizing new parts into a modern Formula 1 car takes time, and Ferrari is aware that progress will not happen overnight. However, given the scale of the upgrades, the team had hoped for more immediate returns—particularly at a high-speed circuit like Spa, which should, in theory, highlight any improvements in aerodynamic efficiency and stability.
Charles Leclerc, speaking to Sky Sport F1, did not hide his disappointment. The Monegasque driver gave everything he had in the Sprint Race, executing a strong start and briefly overtaking Lando Norris around the outside in the early phase. Despite this aggressive but clean move, Leclerc admitted that the race soon settled into a familiar pattern, with Ferrari unable to keep up with the frontrunners.
The number 16 driver explained that although the team is gathering useful data and gradually learning how to make the most of the upgraded package, the gap to the leaders remains unacceptably large. He emphasized that while development and learning are part of the process, his ultimate goal remains unchanged—he wants to fight for victories.
“What I did at the start didn’t change much,” said Charles Leclerc when asked about his early move on Norris. “I went around the outside without taking too many risks, but in the end, nothing changed. I pushed as hard as I could, but we were still three to four tenths off the pace and we are struggling. We’re learning a lot, sure, but what I really want is to win.”
This honest assessment by Charles Leclerc underscores the frustration within the team, as the upgrades did not bring the immediate performance leap they had hoped for. While there are signs of potential in the new rear suspension and floor, Ferrari still finds itself looking up at Red Bull and McLaren, rather than mounting a serious challenge to their dominance.
Looking ahead to the rest of the weekend and the upcoming races, Ferrari faces a crucial period of analysis and adaptation. The team must now fine-tune the SF-25’s new components, particularly in qualifying trim and under race conditions, in order to fully extract the performance gains they were designed to deliver. Engineers and strategists at Maranello will closely evaluate telemetry data from Spa to better understand how the revised rear suspension behaves over a full race stint and under varying loads. With only a limited number of races remaining before the summer break, time is of the essence. If Ferrari wishes to close the performance gap to Red Bull and McLaren, further development—alongside improved setup decisions—will be essential.
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