Ferrari the second force in the last two overseas races
In the last two Grand Prix, on completely different tracks, the much-criticized SF-25 was for long stretches the second-strongest car on the circuit. In Austin, Lando Norris had to fight extremely hard to overcome the Monegasque driver. Meanwhile, during the most recent weekend in Mexico, after the team’s best qualifying of the year, car number 16 consistently held second position.
Certainly, the VSC just two laps from the end ended Max Verstappen’s comeback, but talk is cheap: what matters is the final result. Before analyzing Ferrari further, it is important to note the extreme sensitivity of the current generation of cars. Although this is the fourth (and final) year of regulatory continuity, even minor issues can compromise a team’s weekend.
Even the dominant McLaren paid a heavy price for double retirements in the Austin Sprint Race. Woking’s engineers couldn’t optimize the MCL39 setup due to the lack of data that rivals gathered during the 100-kilometer Saturday race. That said, we reach the paradox Ferrari is currently experiencing.
The Ferrari paradox
After the twentieth round of the season, Maranello regained second place in the Constructors’ Championship. This is a positive outcome, but as already noted, it remains largely symbolic since Ferrari has not won a race in over a year. Excluding Monaco and Hungary, the Italian cars have rarely been genuine contenders for victory.
Even in Mexico, there was never a moment when Leclerc could threaten Norris’ lead. The undeniable fact is that the team’s work on track over the last weekends has improved performance across the race weekend. We had been too accustomed to free practice sessions that were often misleading, only to be systematically hindered by unexplained limitations in qualifying pace.
The development freeze that began after the Belgian Grand Prix did not bode well for the rest of the season. At the Circuit of the Rodriguez brothers, the team led by Frederic Vasseur managed to extract maximum potential from the SF-25. The Mexican track helped partially mask the endemic issues of the 677 project.
However, the turnaround was already noticeable at the United States Grand Prix two weeks ago. At this point, the question is legitimate: despite the SF-25’s flaws, has the car’s fine-tuning always matched the competition? Reflecting on it, the answer seems to be no. There are numerous instances where Ferrari made setup decisions that later proved incorrect.
Let’s be clear: even perfect execution in every race weekend would not have changed the overall season for the Italian team, but the inconsistent pace in some rounds remains hard to explain. Or rather, it points to insufficient work by the team. Lewis Hamilton, despite being overshadowed by his teammate’s results, has highlighted this issue repeatedly and is beginning to show signs of competitiveness.
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