Ferrari has failed to meet expectations in the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship. This was supposed to be a breakthrough year for the Italian racing team from Maranello — a campaign aimed at fighting for world titles and race victories. However, the reality on the track has turned out to be very different. To fully understand the scale of Ferrari’s underperformance so far, we can refer to the data — clear and concrete performance indicators that highlight the backward steps taken compared to the previous championship season.
The championship has now reached its halfway point. Contrary to the pre-season forecasts made by analysts and experts, the anticipated performance convergence among the top teams has not materialized. In recent years, the grid had been gradually closing in, creating close and thrilling racing. However, that exciting trend has not continued into the current season.
Many observers and engineers had predicted that this final year under the current set of technical regulations would naturally bring the teams closer together in terms of overall competitiveness. The belief was that with stable rules, development paths would start to converge and performance gaps would shrink. However, one team in particular has defied that expectation and surged ahead of the rest.
McLaren has made an extraordinary step forward, one that far surpasses the gains made by any of its rivals. The MCL39, their 2025 challenger, represents an ideal and refined evolution of a Formula 1 car that was already showing strong competitive potential last year. In fact, it has become a genuine title contender. This year, under the leadership of Team Principal Andrea Stella, McLaren is dominating both the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championship standings. The substantial points gap they have built up suggests that the fascinating internal rivalry between their two drivers — Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri — could continue right until the final round of the season. Both drivers have shown remarkable speed and consistency.
When comparing the results from the first twelve rounds of this season with the same period from the 2024 season, McLaren is not alone in its progress. Other teams, such as Williams and Sauber, have also managed to improve their performance in a noticeable way. Each has made clear steps forward, especially in relation to their respective goals for the current championship.
Red Bull’s Decline and Ferrari’s Unfulfilled Promises
While McLaren’s rise has been impressive, other teams with an eye on the future have also made notable gains — particularly those aiming to position themselves strongly for the 2026 regulation overhaul. Among them, the Sauber team has delivered one of the biggest surprises of the year so far.
The Hinwil-based team has enjoyed a remarkable transformation. Just last year, during the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship, Sauber finished dead last in the standings, collecting only four points — all of which came thanks to Guanyu Zhou’s effort at the Qatar Grand Prix. That performance marked one of the lowest points in the team’s recent history.
Fast forward to 2025, and things have changed drastically. Sauber is now a consistent midfield presence. Nico Hülkenberg’s superb podium finish at the recent British Grand Prix — aided in part by misfortune at Ferrari — was a standout result. Beyond that, the team has improved in critical operational areas such as pit stops. Sauber now benefits from a well-balanced driver pairing: the experience and technical feedback of seasoned German driver Nico Hülkenberg, and the youthful talent and determination of Brazilian rookie Gabriel Bortoleto.
Meanwhile, two of Formula 1’s biggest teams — Red Bull and Ferrari — have been the most disappointing performers of the first half of the 2025 Formula 1 season. However, it is important to highlight the differences in their respective situations.
The Austrian side has still managed to achieve some results. Despite the underperformance of their latest challenger, the RB21, they have won two races and secured four pole positions. These achievements are notable considering that this year’s Red Bull car is clearly a less competitive version compared to its dominant predecessors.
In fact, Red Bull’s decline became apparent in the second half of the 2024 season. Despite continued success at circuits such as Interlagos in Brazil and the Bahrain International Circuit, technical weaknesses began to emerge. Nevertheless, they managed to maintain a level of competitiveness — something Ferrari has not matched.
The situation at Ferrari is far more troubling. The team has not won a single race so far in 2025 and has not managed to secure a single pole position either. This kind of performance drought has not been seen since the infamous 2020 season — a year remembered as one of the most difficult in the Maranello team’s modern Formula 1 history. Charles Leclerc has occasionally managed to place the SF-25 on the front row of the grid and even reach the podium. However, such moments have been rare, and expectations were much higher. The strong end to the 2024 campaign, combined with the highly anticipated arrival of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes, raised hopes of a championship push.
Instead, Ferrari’s season has been defined by inconsistency and technical shortcomings. Mercedes, meanwhile, has continued to show its well-known strengths and weaknesses. George Russell remains particularly strong in qualifying. On the few occasions he has been given the chance to fight for victory, he has taken it — even managing to beat Max Verstappen in direct competition.
Rising star Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the highly rated young Italian driver, is being given the time he needs to adapt to Formula 1. His front-row start at the Miami Grand Prix and podium finish at the Canadian Grand Prix are strong indicators of his raw talent. Of course, there have been some rookie errors — such as the mistake in qualifying at Monaco and the contact with Max Verstappen in Austria — but overall, his performances are justifying the confidence placed in him by Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff.
Ferrari’s SF-25: A Deeply Flawed Design and the Team’s Main Technical Problem
One of the biggest disappointments of the 2025 season is, without question, the performance of Ferrari. A particular concern is the underwhelming qualifying form of Charles Leclerc — a driver previously known for his one-lap speed. To understand this issue, we must recognize that the SF-25 is a fundamentally flawed technical project.
The car lacks the necessary balance and aerodynamic efficiency to compete with the front-running teams. In qualifying head-to-heads, Lewis Hamilton has consistently outperformed Charles Leclerc — highlighting the car’s instability and lack of grip. In fact, the only weekend where the Monegasque appeared to have a realistic shot at pole position was during the Monaco Grand Prix. After the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Charles Leclerc himself admitted he was struggling to extract performance from the SF-25 during qualifying — something that had rarely been an issue for him in the past.
Last season, the RB20 driven by Max Verstappen was frequently the fastest car over a single lap. However, that is no longer the case. McLaren has now assumed that mantle. Despite that, Max Verstappen has still secured four pole positions in 2025. Moreover, at both the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in Imola and the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, Verstappen missed out on pole by less than one-tenth of a second.
Mercedes has remained in the fight largely due to George Russell’s speed in qualifying. In a performance analysis that aims to be both objective and data-driven, the core issue for Ferrari is clear: on average, the SF-25 has been approximately half a second slower than the car securing pole position. In previous seasons, such a gap might still have allowed Ferrari to line up within the top six positions. But in today’s ultra-competitive field, that is no longer the case.
Since the start of the 2024 season, the Formula 1 grid has become tightly packed. In many qualifying sessions, several cars are separated by mere hundredths of a second. This forces teams to push to the limit as early as Q2 just to make it into the final part of qualifying. If a car starts too far back on the grid — in the middle of the pack and in turbulent air — the race becomes incredibly difficult to manage. This is especially true at circuits where overtaking is difficult.
Looking ahead to the second half of the 2025 Formula 1 season, development across the grid is expected to slow down. Most teams will begin shifting their focus to 2026, when new technical regulations will be introduced. Nevertheless, Ferrari is hoping to turn its fortunes around. The team recently introduced a new rear suspension system — an upgrade they believe could provide the technical answers needed to stabilize the car’s performance. If the changes prove successful, they may not only improve results in the short term but also lay the foundation for a more competitive future as Formula 1 enters a new era in 2026.
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