After just six rounds of the 2025 World Championship, Ferrari is already dealing with a car that is rather difficult to set up within the correct operating window. Due to an extreme design mandate from Fred Vasseur, the 677 arrived at testing in Bahrain as a car still needing to be understood and with untapped potential. Despite the optimistic claims, problems—perhaps teething issues—have emerged, and Serra has set to work on correcting the rear suspension of the Ferrari SF-25.
Despite many proclamations, the SF-25’s performance has disappointed the expectations of fans, drivers, and the team. From the first day of running in Australia, the performance of the Prancing Horse’s car has declined over race distance. The only high point was the Sprint victory in China, where the load conditions allowed the SF-25 to find a near-ideal setup window.
Late proclamations
The SF-25’s struggles have led to many hypotheses, ranging from the absurd to the more plausible. The first, and most absurd, involved excessive flex in the gearbox housing, which some believed was creating instability in the SF-25. Others pointed to a malfunctioning floor or a wrongly designed front suspension. Ultimately, however, the issue turned out to be with the rear suspension—something that we had already identified as early as Australia.
According to sources close to Maranello, the issue had already surfaced at Fiorano during the SF-25’s shakedown. However, the engineers, team, and drivers did not believe it would have the kind of consequences seen in the first six races. Additionally, our editorial team had already learned during the first round of the championship that Serra had “withdrawn” to Maranello to closely monitor the situation. A key figure, especially in the area of suspension, given his prior role at Mercedes.
How to fix the rear suspension?
Let’s revisit the issue: the rear suspension’s configuration seems to be imperfect, almost as if it was completed without the right guidance. That’s because the new rear pull-rod layout stems from an evolved version of the one seen on the SF-24, strongly pushed by Enrico Cardile. With the former technical director’s departure mid-year, the rear suspension lost its creator—and with him, someone who could truly bring it to life.
As seen last year, rear-end squat provided performance gains both in traction and at higher speeds. This improved the car’s efficiency by altering its yaw angle and significantly reducing drag. In 2025, that effect was likely amplified, but it ended up creating the opposite, negative effect.
Loic Serra’s work, together with the chassis department, has been underway for some time, with many resources and hours spent in the dynamic simulator to find a solution. Among the proposed options is a new suspension geometry, which is unfeasible in the short term due to the need to redesign the entire gearbox housing. A more achievable and “faster” option involves working on the internal mechanisms, modifying torsion bars, dampers, and bump stops.
