Scuderia Ferrari is fighting for the 2024 Constructors’ Championship in Formula 1, partly thanks to McLaren, which has shown exceptional performance but suffered significant setbacks. The historic Woking team has lost a lot of points, making too many errors that cost them the battle for the Drivers’ Championship. Max Verstappen capitalized on this and, barring a miracle, he will clinch his fourth consecutive Formula 1 drivers’ title. It is an extraordinary result, with Max Verstappen playing a key role. Despite the RB20 single-seater facing genuinely challenging moments, the Dutchman never gave up and consistently maximized results throughout the 2024 Formula 1 campaign, even in the second part of the season when the car was less dominant and fell behind McLaren and Ferrari in terms of performance.
His teammate Sergio Perez, on the other hand, has taken the opposite path. It is almost as if he did everything to avoid helping his team. The performances of the Mexican driver have been so lackluster that they condemned the Milton Keynes squad in the world Constructors’ standings. Sergio Perez has scored “only” 151 points, 39 fewer than Lewis Hamilton, 41 fewer than George Russell, 93 fewer than Carlos Sainz, 111 fewer than Oscar Piastri, 156 fewer than Charles Leclerc, 180 fewer than Lando Norris, and, most strikingly, 242 fewer than his teammate Max Verstappen.
The cold numbers reveal that a “normal” performance by the Mexican driver would have allowed Red Bull to win both titles during the 2024 Formula 1 season. McLaren and Ferrari, however, have benefited from this situation. With three Grands Prix and one Sprint Race remaining in the current campaign, Ferrari finds itself in second place in the Constructors’ Championship, trailing by 36 points. But the Italian side is not giving up and intends to fight until the very end, knowing that achieving this difficult objective may require further assistance from the historic English team.
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has been clear multiple times over recent months: the Prancing Horse will keep the championship dream alive until the very end. After all, it has nothing to lose. Following the latest adjustments made to the Italian car in the Italian Grand Prix at the Monza circuit, the two red cars have soared. This does not mean Ferrari is not working hard on the next car. As has been mentioned several times, the SF-25, which will most likely be its name, will be the first Italian car Lewis Hamilton will drive alongside the Monegasque Charles Leclerc.
We are talking about a stellar driver pairing that is already poised to fight at the top. Technically, there will be several changes. First, a new chassis will allow the 2025 Maranello car to interact better with aerodynamics, which has been revised in several areas. There will also be updates to the suspension system to optimize mechanical performance and improve the car’s interaction with the airflow. However, these innovations will not be showcased at the London event scheduled for February 18, 2025, which will only reveal the liveries.
We are referring to yet another show that Formula 1 has devised specifically to attract fans from around the world. Liberty Media is once again thinking big, aiming to captivate the audience with a massive presentation on British soil, featuring all the teams in the top category. A kind of quintessentially English party that will take place at the O2 Arena starting at 8:00 PM local time. This is a heavily commercial move, born from a collaboration between Brian Burke of BrianBurkeCreative, Stufish Entertainment Architects, and DX7 Design.
Apparently, this decision was partly made to celebrate Formula 1’s 75th anniversary. The event will feature all the drivers as well as the team principals, with the aim of creating a grand celebration to generate unprecedented media attention and build anticipation for the 2025 championship. The usual formal statements accompany the announcement. Former Ferrari executive and now President of Formula One Group, Stefano Domenicali, describes the gathering as a moment of bringing superstars together for the first time, hinting at the presence of special guests who will liven up the evening.
The Italian manager calls the upcoming Formula One season epic, stating that allowing fans worldwide to experience this entertainment spectacle up close will be fantastic for everyone. The FIA President, Emirati Mohammed Ben Sulayem, also shared his thoughts, emphasizing the desire to celebrate F1’s 75th birthday. The former rally driver and current president of the governing body expressed his excitement about joining Formula One Management colleagues and the ten teams for the two-hour celebration. In theory, a real presentation was expected this time, unlike in the past.
However, as there’s no regulatory requirement, no team will unveil their new car. Instead, it will be a parade of liveries on old cars, which means a bit of a decoy. It would have been nice to imagine the cars appearing for the first time in their actual aerodynamic form, but that will not be the case. Ferrari has already announced that the unveiling of the 2025 car will still take place in February, but in Italy, at Maranello. Within its home walls, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will pose for the first photos with the SF-25.
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