Ferrari F1 2025: Maranello team's last chance to avoid a technical gap

Ferrari loves Formula 1 but has not had a good relationship with the most important motorsport series lately. The 2025 season marks the end of the first-generation power units, introduced in 2014 to replace the 2.4-liter naturally aspirated V8 engines. The first turbo-hybrid revolution marked the beginning of Mercedes’ dominance, which, after returning to Formula 1 in 2010, took advantage of the new regulatory framework and started working on the complex architecture of the new engines ahead of the competition. After at least five years of technical supremacy, the performance of the constructors’ power units began to converge.

Honda broke Mercedes’ dominance, thanks to its successful partnership with Red Bull. The Japanese giant, which entered Formula 1 in 2015, paid a high price for the technological gap compared to its competitors. The failed partnership with McLaren, aimed at reviving the glory of the previous one from the late 80s and early 90s, would have convinced many engine manufacturers to quit. However, in Japanese culture, quitting is not an option. Giving up is rarely contemplated. With continuous progress, Honda became the reference in the category, contributing to the win of seven world titles: four drivers with Max Verstappen and three constructors with the Milton Keynes team. Unexpected results but well-deserved. Since the introduction of turbo-hybrid power units, world titles have only been won by cars powered by Mercedes and Honda engines (both official and non-official). This is the result we have seen in recent years. And Ferrari? Unfortunately, for us fans of the Maranello team, we have to face the fact: the historic Italian team has not won any championships, despite showing the ability to create top-level power units.

This is all the more remarkable when considering that the first power unit from 2014 was light-years away from the Mercedes engine. For this reason, the 2025 Formula 1 season takes on a very significant meaning for the men in Maranello. In the modern history of F1, many regulatory changes have occurred in the engine sector, and the Prancing Horse cars have always managed to win at least one world title. A situation that has not yet been achieved. Therefore, the upcoming championship is crucial to change the course.

Probably, some of the power units from the historic Scuderia Ferrari would have been more than enough to win world titles if they had worn the right suit, meaning if the aero-mechanical part of the technical projects of the red cars from the last decade had been up to the competitiveness of the car. The past racing season was very promising, despite the constructors’ championship being won by McLaren’s rivals. A victory that stings, especially considering that the Woking team, until two years ago, had been mid-table for several seasons.

Finally, if we reflect on results, performance, and mentality, it seems that in 2024, a technical path was traced upon which a possibly winning future can be built. Certainly, this is a statement that is routinely repeated before every season when talking about Ferrari. There is nothing different we can say. The foundations currently seem really solid. The Maranello team led by Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur ended the last season on the rise, a factor that demonstrates their ability to respond to development issues after the problems experienced with the introduction of an aerodynamic update package at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain with more negative consequences than benefits.

Furthermore, the most encouraging aspect is that, finally, the working group in Maranello has been able to extract potential from a technical project, unlike in the past when the performance of the red cars typically plateaued around the summer break. Clearly, the competition will not sit idly by, but that bad statistic, which sees Ferrari never winning with the current generation of engines, could be erased in the final season of the current power unit technical regulations. It does not seem at all like madness to think so.