Ferrari SF-25 shines in Monaco: it’s not about unlocking potential, but avoiding compromise. Ferrari’s strong performance in Monaco isn’t due to unlocked potential but to the absence of setup compromises.

The streets of the Principality host this weekend’s World Championship round — a unique and very atypical Grand Prix, given the track’s characteristics and the car setup demands. With ultra-soft tyres and complex race strategies to consider, the Monaco round was expected to be a damage-limiting exercise for the Maranello team. Until Imola, Ferrari had struggled in slow corners, but in Monaco, it has shown good potential — a result of the absence of compromise.

Traction strength returns
Until last year, the Maranello car was unbeatable in terms of traction, thanks to a rear suspension with the right amount of vertical travel. This allowed the SF-24 to enter a squat phase and put down both thermal and electrical power from the 066/7 engine. In 2025, this trait was visible in Melbourne, but then disappeared as the team pursued that infamous compromise.

Indeed, it was discovered that the vertical force acting on the suspension exceeded what was necessary to manage plank wear. This posed a major issue, forcing Ferrari to run the SF-25 outside of its optimal window — higher and stiffer at the rear. A compromise that undermined one of the gains achieved with the new front-end geometry. By limiting the rear suspension travel, the front was also compromised in terms of contact patch, since there was minimal load transfer. As a result, the strong front-end that Maranello had extracted from the SF-25 was no longer performing.

Back to traction: the difference with Oscar Piastri is minimal, but it still helps highlight Ferrari’s strengths. In the comparison with McLaren’s Australian driver, the differences are small — noticeable in Turn 1 and through the Casino section. Charles Leclerc can keep the throttle slightly more open, with around 10–15% more than Oscar Piastri. This shows how the setup can put Ferrari’s power unit performance down onto the tarmac along with the rear tyres. Something is still missing at the front, where Piastri achieves better cornering between Turns 5 and 7.

Hamilton and that glimpse of SF-25 potential
Another positive note is Lewis Hamilton’s gradual approach to Friday’s sessions. He lagged in FP1 but was just over a tenth behind in FP2. The seven-time world champion took a different approach from everyone else, testing various setups to unlock the much-talked-about potential of the SF-25. Even though it’s a very different car from those he’s driven in the past, Hamilton appears to be gaining confidence with the SF-25.

In the comparison with Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri, his approach to the Casino corner is impressive. The SF-25 seems to generate a lot of downforce, allowing him to attack the corners without ever fully closing the throttle. An overly aggressive approach at Upper Mirabeau slightly compromised his run through the hairpin.

The mechanical grip unlocked from this SF-25 appears extremely high, thanks to a setup compromise that simply doesn’t exist here in Monaco. The absence of high-speed corners allowed Ferrari to soften the rear axle springs, enabling greater suspension travel. This positively impacts acceleration and exit from slow corners, but is clearly detrimental at higher speeds, where a “compliant” rear end prevents high-speed stability.

This behavior will be addressed in Maranello with an updated rear suspension, likely arriving at Silverstone.