At the sixth race, Ferrari reached the lowest point of the start of the 2025 Formula 1 championship with a performance far from the top. For example, in qualifying, the SF-25 single-seater was only two-tenths better than the problematic SF-23. Better tires, namely softer, improved aerodynamics after two years of wind tunnel work, good efficiency in terms of top speed and drag reduction system, no signs of porpoising. Yet the car has hardly come to life except for the race which was held at the 6.174-kilometre Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia. A series of performances that were never in line with expectations, while the tire operation remains unknown. The Maranello team had a rough weekend at the Miami International Autodrome in Florida, where only the sprint, thanks to weather that shuffled the cards, rewarded Lewis Hamilton once again after a desperate move. Charles Leclerc did not even start due to the incident with the intermediates, a questionable move in terms of assessing the conditions.
McLaren was untouchable, even Red Bull’s Max Verstappen had to destroy his first stint just to resist in vain. The Miami heat made the MCL39 single-seater more unbeatable than ever. The specter of a summer dominance looms, which could demotivate the competition. Everything is in the hands of the drivers’ ability to avoid mistakes.
Ferrari’s potential is unusable, the simulator says it exists but the track doesn’t, that’s why Frederic Vasseur is talking about it. It is not purely an aerodynamic issue, the car simply runs with inefficient mechanical settings for the race, which is compromising the performance in the qualifying session. For some reason, the Maranello team’s engineers and technicians can not make the rear suspension work as it should. It could be an issue with the anchorage or travel. According to what has been reported by F1 expert Giuliano Duchessa for autoracer, a new suspension is in the works that could be paired with the latest big aerodynamic package, but the timing is unknown.
It is a very delicate and totally unexpected change in the middle of the season, not quick, but at least it clearly shows where the problem lies and that it is not strictly aerodynamic. The hope is that the fixes will work as they did a year ago after the technical director’s position was suddenly vacant with Enrico Cardile’s departure, who will take a position at Aston Martin next July. At that moment, Frederic Vasseur took the interim role but was certainly caught off guard as they entered a delicate phase. This could be a delayed backlash, perhaps the cause of some assessments deemed insufficient regarding the bold changes to project 677.
However, Ferrari cannot afford a long season that risks seeing it, at certain points, even as the fifth force. Currently, there are already two teams at Maranello, one fully dedicated to the ongoing 678 project, namely the car for the 2026 Formula 1 season. A phase where dozens of different designs, some extreme, are normally tested to identify where the greatest gains can be made. Technical Director Loic Serra was in Jeddah where things worked less badly, at least for Charles Leclerc, but wasn’t in Miami. On his shoulders, the responsibility of a triple and heavy commitment: thinking of a good car for next year, curing the SF-25’s problems, and (significantly) improving the quality of technical choices on track.
Everyone is asking the same question, and it is a legitimate one: couldn’t the Ferrari SF-24 have been further refined instead of changing it “99%”? Changing the aerodynamic balance to focus more on the front end required an entirely different overall geometry. Modifying the gearbox casing and reducing the rear suspension’s size did not pay off. The trap was around the corner but could not be predicted in the simulations, which only showed gains with no drawbacks. For better or worse, Venturi cars will remain among the most unpredictable and unreadable in Formula 1 history.
After the turbulent American weekend in every sense, it is worth highlighting the comments of the seven-time Formula 1 world champion reported by the BBC, which may now seem clearer. Lewis Hamilton said that he thought the SF-25 car had real performance and that something was holding them back at that moment. The British driver believed the performance was there, but they just could not use it. He added that until they found a solution, that was the situation they were in.
