Ferrari: how Suzuka’s first sector will reveal if SF-25 fixes are working

Ferrari arrives in Japan eager to leave behind a troubled start to the 2025 Formula 1 season. The Prancing Horse aims to react not only to the double disqualification at the 5.451-kilometre Shanghai International Circuit in China but, above all, to the inconsistency in terms of performance. In just a few days, Suzuka will serve as the ideal testing ground to assess the initial fixes to the floor wear issues, stemming from the difficulty in managing low ride heights. If successful, Ferrari could leverage the strengths of its project to aspire to a convincing result.

As was the case at the Albert Park circuit in Australia, Ferrari did not improve as much as its rivals in China over the course of the weekend, losing competitiveness from the Sprint on Saturday to the Grand Prix the following day. The Maranello team adopted slightly different setups for the two drivers, with Charles Leclerc feeling more comfortable but hindered by a damaged wing and Lewis Hamilton struggling with understeer. However, the drop in form from Saturday was not only due to a specific increase in ride height. The chosen setup proved ineffective, with a general difficulty in understanding how to find the SF-25’s operating window, combined with a balance aimed at protecting the front tires but ultimately proving inadequate for the track’s evolution.

Lewis Hamilton’s disqualification, however, confirms that floor wear exceeded expectations. The suspicion is that Ferrari had already identified a similar issue after Friday in Melbourne, suggesting that the car body oscillates more than simulations had estimated. The Japanese Grand Prix weekend therefore represents both the worst and best track for Ferrari: it will fully expose the problem while also allowing for an assessment of the effectiveness of the first solutions.

Eyes on the “Snake”
Suzuka is characterized by high-speed corners exceeding 200 kilometers per hour, where intense aerodynamic forces press the car against the track surface. This makes it crucial to stabilize the platform close to the ground to extract maximum aerodynamic load, but without hitting the surface—posing additional challenges. The Japanese circuit features numerous elevation changes, particularly in the opening “Snake” section, where uphill gradients push the car down, similar to what happens at Raidillon in Spa. Furthermore, the first sector has been recently resurfaced, with early reports indicating a bumpy track that further unsettles the cars and increases the risk of bottoming out.

This presents a stark contrast to the flat, smooth corners of China, providing a real test of platform control for all teams, Ferrari especially. Lap times in the first sector will be key to understanding whether the initial corrections have mitigated the SF-25’s difficulties, helping the car stay closer to the ground and unlock its potential. The short-term solutions focus on suspension setup philosophy, with different tuning aimed at finding a better compromise. The goal is to keep the ride height as low as possible to maintain floor downforce without stiffening the mechanical components too much, which could harm balance and grip in slower sections. It will be interesting to observe Ferrari’s work program in the early free practice sessions—whether the two drivers will test different configurations and whether race simulations will be reduced in favor of setup experiments, as Red Bull recently did.

Waiting for Updates
Suzuka features few slow corners, limited to the hairpin and final chicane, potentially masking other weaknesses of the SF-25 project, such as traction issues. This context will allow greater focus on ride height management, an area that requires both mechanical and aerodynamic solutions. However, development updates are planned well in advance of their introduction, meaning that targeted changes to this issue will take time. In the meantime, the Suzuka weekend will help the Ferrari engineers and technicians determine whether it is worth investing time and resources into this aspect. The initial setup corrections will reveal whether the SF-25 has untapped potential or if the project is not just immature, but fundamentally flawed.