On Wednesday, July 16, at the historic and Ferrari-owned Mugello Circuit located in Tuscany, the Italian side will carry out a crucial and highly anticipated filming day that could potentially mark a significant turning point in the Maranello team’s 2025 Formula 1 World Championship campaign. During this special promotional session — officially permitted under FIA regulations for media and marketing purposes, with a strict running limit of 200 kilometers — the team from Maranello will debut the long-awaited and extensively developed rear suspension system on their current single-seater, the Ferrari SF-25. Alongside this component, the car will also feature the latest version of the revised floor, an aerodynamic element that already made its first on-track appearance during the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg.
Should the complete technical upgrade package receive positive feedback and validation from Ferrari’s two official full-time race drivers — Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc and British seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton — the Scuderia is expected to adopt and implement the new specification at the upcoming Belgian Grand Prix. That race will be held at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit the following weekend, one of the most iconic and challenging tracks on the Formula 1 calendar.
Although this session is classified as a filming day, the true motivation behind the outing is of far greater technical importance than a simple promotional event. Ferrari aims to use this opportunity to collect valuable data and driver feedback on the upgraded configuration of the SF-25. This includes both the updated mechanical suspension elements and the floor, whose revised aerodynamic profile has already yielded encouraging results during its earlier track debut. The Mugello Circuit, with its high-speed corners and elevation changes, provides an ideal environment for evaluating these components in dynamic and realistic conditions.
This occasion will mark the first time that the redesigned Ferrari SF-25 is equipped simultaneously with both the new rear suspension system and the floor upgrade. Together, these components form the core of a performance-enhancement package that Ferrari engineers hope will produce a noticeable step forward in terms of handling, tire management, and aerodynamic efficiency. The Italian team is looking to gain crucial momentum in the second half of the 2025 season. Following this test, Scuderia Ferrari plans to gradually halt further development on the SF-25 in order to fully redirect engineering resources and focus toward designing and preparing the car for the 2026 season, internally referred to as “Project 678.”
This future Formula 1 car will need to comply with the radically new FIA technical regulations that will come into effect in 2026. These new rules aim to redefine the design philosophy of Formula 1 cars, promoting more agile vehicles that are shorter, narrower, and lighter, with improved mechanical grip and reduced aerodynamic turbulence, thus enhancing wheel-to-wheel racing.
The timing of the Mugello test is carefully planned: it is taking place roughly one week before Ferrari must ship all necessary technical equipment and car parts to Belgium for the next race weekend. Before this on-track test, the new suspension system underwent an extensive validation process, including a full evaluation on the dynamic test bench. This specialized testing rig allows the Maranello team’s engineers to mount the entire Formula 1 car and simulate a wide variety of operating conditions. The objective is to measure and compare the behavior of the new components with those of previous versions in a controlled and repeatable environment. According to sources close to the team, these internal bench tests have produced positive and encouraging results.
Until recently, the rear suspension system had only been analyzed using advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics tools, since it had not yet been physically constructed. This digital phase allowed engineers to simulate airflow and forces around the suspension to fine-tune its geometry. A major challenge during development was the design of the upper wishbone’s front arm within the suspension layout. Engineers had to find a reliable mounting point on the outer casing of the car’s transmission system — also known as the gearbox housing — that would be capable of withstanding the high loads and mechanical stresses generated by a pull-rod suspension setup, which Ferrari is reportedly implementing to improve aerodynamic efficiency.
The gearbox housing is manufactured using high-strength composite materials to ensure a minimal weight profile while retaining structural integrity. In order to reduce the car’s overall mass and improve packaging efficiency, the external shell is designed with extremely thin walls and minimized ribbing. However, at critical load-bearing points — such as where the suspension arms are attached — the design must incorporate reinforcements that can cope with the significant stresses encountered during high-speed cornering, braking, and acceleration.
Although simulations have returned promising results, the real challenge lies in confirming these findings on track. The Mugello filming day will therefore serve as a crucial opportunity to match hard telemetry data with the subjective feedback and sensations provided by the two Scuderia Ferrari drivers, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. According to internal expectations, the updated suspension layout should make the SF-25 less sensitive to changes in ride height — a long-standing weakness of Ferrari’s recent chassis designs. By stabilizing ride height behavior, Ferrari hopes to unlock new setup possibilities and increase the car’s adaptability to different circuits and surface conditions, thereby widening the working range of the Pirelli tires.
The combined effect of the new floor and rear suspension system could result in a performance gain of nearly one-tenth of a second per lap — a figure that, while seemingly small, can prove decisive over the course of a Grand Prix weekend. If this performance increase is confirmed by the Mugello test, Ferrari could realistically aim to solidify its current hold on second place in the 2025 Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship standings. Catching McLaren — currently enjoying a dominant position with a 238-point advantage over Ferrari — seems unrealistic at this stage of the season. However, defending second place remains a realistic and worthwhile goal. Additionally, in the event that McLaren’s two drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, begin to compete too aggressively with one another and start taking points off each other, Ferrari might have a chance to seize any unexpected podium opportunities.
So far in 2025, Scuderia Ferrari has rarely been in a position to truly capitalize on competitive opportunities. The podium finish recently achieved by German driver Nico Hülkenberg — driving for Sauber — at the 2025 British Grand Prix in Silverstone highlighted Ferrari’s missed chances. On that occasion, Lewis Hamilton was unable to challenge Nico Hülkenberg due to serious setup issues with the SF-25, which struggled for grip on a damp track that was gradually drying out during the race. The Maranello-based team’s difficulties in adapting to changing track conditions further underscored the car’s narrow operating window and lack of flexibility.
Now, however, there is no more room for speculation or excuses. The Mugello test will serve as the decisive trial to determine whether Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton can finally aspire to secure at least one Grand Prix victory in the remainder of the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship season. To date, Ferrari remains the only top-tier team on the grid that has not yet secured a proper race win — the only exception being the chaotic and weather-affected Chinese Grand Prix, which was an outlier rather than a true indicator of competitiveness. In contrast, both Red Bull Racing with Max Verstappen and Mercedes with George Russell have already succeeded in reaching the top step of the podium in recent months.
All attention is now focused on the Mugello Circuit. The outcome of this critical test session may very well shape the course of Scuderia Ferrari’s 2025 campaign and could determine whether the team is able to return to winning ways before the end of the season. For the tifosi — the passionate Ferrari fan base around the world — this moment represents a crossroads. The hope is that the combination of technical evolution, driver skill, and strategic clarity can finally deliver the long-awaited breakthrough.
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