After a 2024 in which Ferrari had shown the pace to fight until the final race for the Constructors’ Championship, expectations for the 2025 season were inevitably high heading into Abu Dhabi. The Maranello team arrived at the start with the belief that they could finally close the gap with Red Bull and McLaren, supported by a solid technical base and the arrival of seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton, called to bring experience, a winning mentality, and extra motivation within the team.
The context seemed perfect: Charles Leclerc coming off a season of great maturity, Hamilton ready to write a new chapter of his career in red, and a Ferrari that had demonstrated the ability to compete with its rivals.
The reality of an inconsistent SF-25
The reality, however, proved very different. The SF-25 showed inconsistency, lacking the performance peaks that could have turned the drivers’ efforts into concrete victories. The podiums achieved were more the result of Leclerc’s individual skill and temporary difficulties of rivals finding the right setup for their cars than any real technical superiority from Ferrari.
Added to this were the challenges faced by Hamilton, who never found the right feel with the car. His Sprint win in China remained an isolated event, almost inexplicable given the overall performance of his first season in red.
What was meant to be a year of consolidation turned into a transitional season, marked by disappointment and a clear gap compared to both initial expectations and the performance of the SF-24. For this reason, 2026 must necessarily represent a restart after a regulatory cycle that should have produced far better results.
Leclerc’s statement after Qatar
The Qatar Grand Prix represented one of the most emblematic moments of these struggles: a weekend where Ferrari fell short of expected performance, and where Charles Leclerc chose to speak with great honesty, without hiding his disappointment for a 2025 season that should have produced much better results.
“It hurts a lot, I’m really sorry… I don’t like to create false expectations, but in the end, you have to say what you think. At the start of the year, I was convinced we had done a good job, but the result is that the work done is not enough, and we need to do much more to reach our goals. We are doing a lot, working a lot, and we’ll see next year how it goes, but I know that after the first three or four races, we sacrificed two-thirds of this season to focus on next year’s car. So it’s not a huge surprise to be struggling this season, but it is surprising to be so far behind this weekend, because you cannot explain this performance simply by saying we started developing next year’s car. So on that, I am not satisfied, and we need to find answers. I’m especially sorry because, obviously, wherever we go, we have tremendous support in both good and difficult moments, and I keep saying that our time will come. I will continue repeating it because I believe it, but I’m sorry for the fans who wait and always stand behind us.”
These words capture the tension of a season lived between sacrifices and disappointments: the awareness of having chosen to look to the future, but also the difficulty of accepting results so far from expectations. Leclerc does not hide his frustration but reiterates trust in the project and gratitude to the fans, who continue to support the team despite the results, driven by their love for a brand that has always represented a dream.
Farewell to the SF-25 and eyes on 2026
If in Qatar the car appeared unmanageable and uncompetitive, the situation in Abu Dhabi was slightly better. At Yas Marina, the SF-25 finished fourth, one of the best races of the year, but still insufficient to salvage a project that proved a failure.
After the GP, Charles Leclerc spoke clearly about the future:
“Expectations for 2026 must be taken step by step, without assuming they will immediately change things. This time I have none: it’s a blank slate, we don’t know where to start or where the others will be.”
He added strongly:
“It’s such a big change, a huge opportunity to show what Ferrari is capable of. It’s the moment of truth: now or never. I really hope we start this new era on the right foot, because it’s important for the next four years.”
2025 showed all of Ferrari’s limits: no wins, an inconsistent car, and a project that did not deliver on its promises. After sacrificing this season, 2026 becomes the decisive opportunity.
With completely new technical regulations arrive in 2026 there will be no more excuses, no more “we’re building for next year”. The grid resets, and Ferrari – with Charles Leclerc’s prime years ticking away and Lewis Hamilton in what could be his final chapter – must deliver. The work, the passion and the belief are all still there. What has been missing is results. 2026 is the year Maranello turns hope into hardware, or risks watching another generation of talent go unrewarded.
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