Ferrari 677 completely new, but McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes also make major changes. Top F1 teams are betting on innovations for 2025 season.

After securing second place in the Constructors’ Championship, just 14 points behind McLaren, Ferrari is aiming for both world titles in 2025. With Lewis Hamilton joining the team alongside the retained Charles Leclerc, the Scuderia feels ready to challenge the other three top teams in a technical contest that will also mark the last season for ground-effect cars before the revolutionary 2026 regulations introduce more agile cars.

Frederic Vasseur has admitted that the 677 will not share even 1% with the SF-24, which ended the 2024 season with five victories: “I trust the project we are working on. It will be another intense challenge like the one that just concluded. We saw this year that with four teams fighting for poles and wins, the details make the difference: track conditions, temperatures, tires, and approach. I am very proud of how we handled difficulties this year, but we need to take a further step toward consistency.”

It was expected that, with engineers focusing on developing the 2026 cars from January 1—ushering in a clean break from the current era—the final season of ground-effect cars would see only evolved versions, perhaps enhanced, of the 2024 models.

Ferrari’s bold decision to completely redesign its car, instead of merely refreshing it, seems to have also been pursued by McLaren, Red Bull, and Mercedes. If this sets the tone for 2025, we could be in for an exciting championship. The SF-24 likely reached the end of its development potential, whereas the new car starts almost from scratch with a new chassis, a pull-rod front suspension, and a shorter gearbox that facilitates a pull-rod rear suspension aimed at improving traction and making the car more competitive in qualifying.

Andrea Stella, speaking at Autosprint’s Helmet Awards, revealed that McLaren has adopted a similar approach: “We took risks in our design choices. The approach to next season will be bold because we aim for innovation. Over the summer, as we began working on the 2025 car, we decided we needed to make a significant leap forward if we aim to fight for the drivers’ title. We’d like to make the championship a bit less close, maybe not as tight as this year. But I think the battle will still be thrilling, with four teams in contention.”

Andrea Stella’s remarks naturally include Red Bull and Mercedes. Christian Horner, Red Bull’s team principal, mentioned an RB21 set to debut ahead of some competitors. This will be the first car since the RB2 without any input from Adrian Newey, who has moved to Aston Martin.

The new car should have fewer design issues than the RB20, which lost its technical edge to McLaren and was challenged by Ferrari. Pierre Waché’s team is working hard to resolve the problems that affected the Milton Keynes squad in the second half of the season. Some progress was evident with Max Verstappen’s two victories in the final four races. The four-time world champion had clearly stated that while the issues with the RB20 were identified, they required a new car to be fully addressed.

Those who believe Adrian Newey’s departure marks the end of Red Bull’s technical dominance might need to reconsider, at least for 2025. Enrico Balbo, Red Bull’s Italian head of aerodynamics, will implement a less extreme power unit cooling system than this year’s four-stage setup, resulting in a car that breaks away from the RB20 lineage. The goal is to secure Verstappen’s fifth consecutive world title, proving that Red Bull can remain resilient despite the intense controversies and challenges faced in 2024, which included heavy criticism directed at Christian Horner.

And Mercedes? They are counting on Simone Resta, called in by technical director James Allison to set things right after the W15 only performed well in specific conditions. The Imola-born engineer reunites with the English director, who had previously admired his work at Ferrari. It’s likely the Silver Arrow will have a new look, despite Resta originally being assigned to the 2026 car project. Loic Serra’s departure to Ferrari may have shifted some priorities, but Brackley is also betting on a paradigm shift. Which team will have made the right choices?

Andrea Stella has prophetically remarked that he would like to make the championship more… boring, with a more pronounced dominance from the papaya cars than what was achieved this year. However, the other three team principals disagree. Even Ferrari president John Elkann expects the Scuderia to improve on their second-place Constructors’ finish, lost by just 14 points. The race appears wide open…