Ferrari SF-25 issues persist: a wake-up call after Suzuka. Ferrari’s disappointing results at the Japanese GP raise concerns.

If Ferrari’s best car of the year finishes fourth with Charles Leclerc and seventh with Lewis Hamilton, 16 and 29 seconds behind Max Verstappen respectively, it means something is wrong. The result is unacceptable for a team with the most resources in Formula 1, a team that started with the goal of winning right away. Instead, promises of success continue to be postponed, and the drivers are clearly complaining about a car that is far below their expectations.

Alright, we’ll wait, as we have been doing for decades, and give the technicians in Maranello the chance to fix things, but the wait is excessive given the potential that Ferrari, as a company and racing department, is capable of expressing. Perhaps a shake-up is needed, a clarifying discussion, but only President John Elkann or CEO Benedetto Vigna can initiate that.

For sure, Japan, with a track that didn’t wear out anyone’s tires, was a good opportunity to erase the disgrace of Shanghai, where both SF-25s were excluded from the results for technical irregularities, an embarrassment never before recorded at Maranello.

But we must see if the 2-3 tenths per lap gap noticed in qualifying and the race was due to the track’s leniency or a real potential of the car that showed itself on a difficult, challenging circuit, which for Ferrari was already a chance to redeem itself after China.

In terms of lap times, Suzuka’s result is reassuring and fuels the usual hopes. But are these hopes real or fleeting? We might find out as soon as next Sunday in Bahrain. However, the fact remains that McLaren is still the fastest car on track, even though it should have given Oscar Piastri the chance to attack Max Verstappen, once it became clear that Lando Norris, intimidated and insecure around Max, would never do it.

In reality, the Dutchman made a perfect setup for his Red Bull and, from pole position, went straight to victory. But he himself says there are balance issues to resolve, and perhaps the Bahrain race will highlight weaknesses that were hidden at Suzuka.