A lot has been said about Ferrari in Formula 1 during the last few weeks. On the other hand, that is understandable, since none of us writing work for the team. Not having the team’s data and knowledge is limiting. However, the ability to observe the cars in all their forms helps. Onboards are an extraordinary tool in this regard, through which the truth about the behavior of the cars cannot escape.
The car’s problems don’t change
Today we want to clarify a bit about the handling of the SF-25 single-seater. We understand there is a lot of confusion around this topic, also because sometimes the basic point of view behind the analyses is wrong. The first question is this: is the Italian car understeering or oversteering? There is no definitive answer, as the Maranello single-seater is not yet at its maximum potential.
We are talking about a car that is strongly limited, presumably by the ride heights. For various reasons, still unclear even to the Maranello team’s engineers and technicians, the cars cannot be lowered as much as desired. This leads the floor to work under conditions for which it was not optimized. This is the root of the problem. Consequently, everything worsens. It must also be said that the SF-25 has fundamental issues.
Charles Leclerc said it explicitly ever since the race weekend in Saudi Arabia: “It lacks downforce.” It’s true… downforce is not available across a wide range of operating conditions, but only within a narrow window. Since the start of the 2025 Formula 1 championship, we have emphasized the strong lack of mid-corner rotation, which remains evident today. We don’t understand how anyone can claim the opposite, since understeer was reported by both drivers from the very first team radios of the season.
SF-25: the missing balance that cannot be reached
From the first races, we have seen that this main problem limited the handling. Through setup, they have tried to exploit a balance that destabilizes the front end. Subsequently, over several months, the team has been searching for various solutions, although things have not improved. What we observe directly from the track, through onboards, telemetry, and driver comments is clear:
Ferrari is unable to find an optimal balance on many tracks. The transition phase between understeer and oversteer remains very short, and it is not possible to find a balance between these two phases. Depending on the track, the search for the optimal setup can become even more complicated and all problems amplify enormously. Too many compromises to make, with a car that lacks sufficient grip.
Moreover, it cannot operate at the ride heights established by the design. Because raising the car, even by a few millimeters, changes everything. Consider that in some situations the cars are so low that they work with the boundary layer, a very narrow region of fluid directly in contact with the asphalt, where viscous forces are not negligible. We are talking about very delicate conditions in which the cars operate.
In general, these limits in achieving the desired ride height create a domino effect, then leading to a sharp narrowing of the operational window, which becomes almost impossible to “set” on track. The clearest example was seen in the Miami Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc himself said, about a month ago, that the SF-25 had a huge lack of rotation, with oversteer on exit.
Charles Leclerc’s reasons
We stick to the words the Monegasque certainly expressed in press conferences with the media. It is hard to say the Red has a solid front end when on track the difference on entry compared to other cars is clear. We wonder how such statements can be read. McLaren has more front grip, there is little to say. Not to mention Mercedes and Red Bull, who alternately show more strength on this element.
Then we must question the actual unexpressed potential of the Red car. Charles Leclerc, again in Miami, candidly pointed to the vertical load generated at low speeds, which he believes is totally insufficient. This aspect was later confirmed by Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur. We argue that the mechanical grip level of the SF-25 is overall good, but almost always remains unexpressed due to the operating window being too short.
The Monegasque must be believed when he says that downforce optimization at low speeds is needed. A matter on which, moreover, the team is working with updates and hopes to partially solve starting from the Spanish Grand Prix, where the TD108 arrives on the flexible wings. McLaren had this problem last season. In Austria, the British team brought a wing specifically aimed at improving load in slow corners.
Understeer and oversteer together for the Red
Overall, therefore, it is not possible to talk absolutely about either oversteer or understeer. As we highlight every weekend, the handling of the SF-25 is variable for all the reasons stated above. The car’s balance also strictly depends on the corner phase, so it constantly changes. Depending on the phase, the car requires more understeer or oversteer.
On entry and exit, the ideal balance would want a slight understeer, interspersed with a controlled degree of oversteer mid-corner to find rotation, enabling better cornering and then getting on the throttle earlier. For this reason, it is almost useless to talk emphatically about certain issues. Ferrari does not work across a broad spectrum and has opposing flaws that alternately show up on track.
In many cases, especially Lewis Hamilton, found himself experiencing oversteer on entry, then, like his teammate, highlighting a clear lack of mid-corner rotation, which then in the exit phase transformed into oversteer. This is the current state of the Ferrari SF-25 car. Without doubt, it is a very complicated and changeable situation depending on the scenario, we know that, but we try to express it clearly and honestly.
— see video above —
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