The Scuderia Ferrari team finds itself in a complicated and somewhat uncertain position as the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship enters its decisive second half. While the Italian team remains a strong contender and holds second place in the Constructors’ Championship, its overall performance has left many observers and fans with mixed feelings. Ferrari’s primary objective for the remainder of the campaign is to see either Charles Leclerc or Lewis Hamilton finally step onto the top step of the podium in a Grand Prix race, a milestone that has remained frustratingly out of reach so far.
Charles Leclerc has managed to secure five podium finishes over the course of the opening races, demonstrating a high level of consistency but still lacking the crucial victory that Ferrari so desperately craves. Meanwhile, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has only been able to celebrate success in a Sprint Race, which highlights the reality that the team’s competitiveness has not lived up to preseason expectations. Under the leadership of team principal Frédéric Vasseur, Ferrari has found itself falling short of its ambitious goals despite its solid points tally.
Currently, Ferrari occupies second place in the standings, but the gap to the dominant McLaren team led by Andrea Stella is enormous. The difference is close to 300 points, meaning that catching McLaren and seriously fighting for the championship is now out of the question. McLaren’s forward-thinking development strategy, which involved evolving their already successful 2024 car into an even more competitive package, has paid off handsomely. Ferrari, in contrast, opted for a bold revolution in its design approach during the winter break rather than a gradual evolution.
This decision to take a radical direction has sparked some internal debate within Maranello. In hindsight, several insiders reportedly feel that Ferrari may have been too aggressive in their approach, creating a machine that has been difficult to master across a wide variety of circuits. However, there is also a growing sense that these risks may ultimately prove to be shrewdly calculated when viewed in the context of the upcoming 2026 Formula 1 regulation changes.
A Bold Suspension Concept Could Pay Off in 2026
Frédéric Vasseur, speaking to journalists at the close of the 2025 season during a media gathering reported by Motorsport Week, reflected on the risks Ferrari had taken with the SF-25’s design. He explained that sometimes the full extent of those risks only becomes apparent after the car hits the track, noting that the 2025 machine shared less than one percent of its components with the 2024 version. The team principal described the SF-25 as an entirely new project, emphasizing that while such bold moves carried inherent danger, all teams in Formula 1 were ultimately forced to make difficult design decisions in pursuit of performance gains.
Further details of Ferrari’s technical choices were shared in a detailed analysis published by Formula Uno Analysis Tecnica. One of the most significant elements of Ferrari’s design strategy this year was the decision to abandon the traditional push-rod front suspension system in favor of a pull-rod configuration. This change represented a fundamental shift in philosophy and added complexity to the car’s set-up. More recently, Ferrari has also introduced a heavily revised rear suspension, which became a major talking point in the paddock.
The importance of this change was highlighted earlier in the season when Ferrari struggled to run its car as low to the ground as Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton would have preferred. This issue even led to Lewis Hamilton’s disqualification at the Chinese Grand Prix after the car was deemed not compliant with ride-height regulations. Despite this setback, Ferrari’s engineers persisted with their development program. The results began to show promise, with Leclerc claiming a pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix, an indication that the revised suspension set-up may finally be unlocking the car’s potential.
At present, Ferrari runs a pull-rod system at both the front and rear axles, a configuration that remains relatively uncommon in Formula 1. Most rival teams, including McLaren and Red Bull Racing, have stuck with push-rod systems at least at the rear of their cars. Ferrari’s decision could prove advantageous once the new technical rules for 2026 come into effect. With the anticipated lower nose designs of the 2026 cars, pull-rod suspension layouts could provide aerodynamic benefits, giving Ferrari a potential head start over their competitors. Even if other teams switch to similar concepts over the winter, Ferrari’s experience from this transitional 2025 campaign might provide them with a decisive advantage.
Turning 2025 into a Launchpad for Future Success
Looking ahead, Ferrari appears ready to use the second half of the 2025 Formula 1 season as an extended testing ground for concepts that will be central to their 2026 challenger. Reports suggest that at the Dutch Grand Prix and beyond, Ferrari will introduce further refinements to the suspension package and continue working on making the SF-25 more predictable and easier to handle for both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. The Italian team is also expected to experiment with technical solutions that could influence next year’s car, effectively previewing some aspects of their future design philosophy.
The regulatory shift for 2026 will reduce the dependence on the cars’ underfloors, thereby increasing the importance of suspension geometry and mechanical grip. For Ferrari, this makes their early adoption of a full pull-rod system a potentially decisive advantage. If they succeed in perfecting the set-up during the current season, they may enter 2026 with a far more competitive foundation than many of their rivals.
Ferrari’s broader goal remains clear: to return to the summit of Formula 1 and reclaim the Constructors’ Championship title for the first time in nearly two decades. While the immediate objective of securing race victories in 2025 is still important, the team also views this season as a bridge toward long-term success. By carefully balancing short-term competitiveness with forward-looking experimentation, Ferrari is determined to close the gap to McLaren and Red Bull in the years ahead. The Scuderia’s faithful supporters will be hoping that these bold decisions will ultimately restore Ferrari to its rightful place at the top of the sport.
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