Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur remains confident that McLaren is still within reach for the 2025 Formula 1 season, with the Scuderia set to introduce a major upgrade at the Bahrain Grand Prix in an effort to close the gap to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
McLaren has emerged as the early frontrunner this season, securing pole position and converting both Grand Prix races into dominant victories. While their advantage is clear, it is not as overwhelming as the dominance seen by other teams in previous years. Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes are all chasing Andrea Stella’s resurgent papaya cars, but the battle is far from over.
Encouraging signs have already surfaced for Ferrari, particularly after Lewis Hamilton secured Sprint Pole and clinched victory in the Sprint Race at the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix. However, the main Grand Prix proved disappointing, with both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc facing disqualification. Despite this setback, Max Verstappen’s Red Bull displayed vulnerabilities in race pace, suggesting that the championship remains open.
Determined to capitalize on any opportunity, the Maranello team is pushing ahead with a major aerodynamic upgrade package set to debut at the Bahrain Grand Prix from April 11-13. The key component of this update is a redesigned floor, aimed at addressing the car’s handling issues and boosting overall performance to challenge McLaren more effectively.
According to the Italian media, Ferrari’s new floor for the SF-25 single-seater is designed to improve rear-end flexibility, reducing the understeer that has frustrated both the Briton and the Monegasque in the opening rounds of the 2025 Formula 1 campaign. The understeer is believed to stem from an overly stiff rear end, and while the new floor is expected to unlock more performance, it won’t be a complete fix. Nonetheless, it marks a crucial step forward in Ferrari’s pursuit of form and consistency.
Fred Vasseur Confident Ferrari Can Reel in McLaren
Now in his third season leading Ferrari, Fred Vasseur has already delivered tangible results, steering the team to the only non-Red Bull victory of 2023 at the Singapore Grand Prix. That momentum carried into the 2024 season, where Ferrari secured five race wins but narrowly lost out to McLaren in the constructors’ championship by a margin as slim as a single Grand Prix victory in Abu Dhabi.
With that experience in mind, the 56-year-old team principal remains optimistic about Ferrari’s ability to recover. Pointing to their ability to close performance gaps in previous seasons, the Ferrari team boss has full confidence in his engineers to deliver the solutions needed to bring the fight to McLaren as the season unfolds.
Frederic Vasseur suggested that Ferrari’s gap to McLaren this season is similar to the deficit they faced against Red Bull last year when the reigning champions secured 1-2 finishes in the opening two races. Speaking to the media, he pointed out that if the same situation had been discussed after the second race of the previous season, people might have questioned whether Red Bull would secure the title by June.
Emphasizing the need for perspective, Frederic Vasseur acknowledged McLaren’s strong form and impressive pace but cautioned against drawing early conclusions. While the French manager admitted that McLaren had taken a step forward, he stressed that the championship was far from decided.
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