Ferrari’s paradox: How abandoning SF-25 development improved performance. The SF-25’s progress comes from a shift in mentality at Maranello..

Ferrari started the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend on the right foot, locking out second and third positions in qualifying, with Charles Leclerc ahead of Lewis Hamilton. The Scuderia also showed strong race pace, although a 10-second penalty ultimately compromised the British driver’s final result. The stewards penalized him for going off track at Turn 4 and gaining an advantage during a duel with Max Verstappen. Later, however, the race direction played in Charles Leclerc’s favor, with a Virtual Safety Car deployed in the final laps just as the Red Bull driver was closing in on the Ferrari.

Thanks to that, Charles Leclerc managed to claim back-to-back podiums in two consecutive races — a result few would have expected given Ferrari’s struggles in previous weekends. The improved form, however, stems from a major shift in mindset at Maranello. “We didn’t expect to be back on the podium. In Austin we did everything perfectly, but here we didn’t have the pace of McLaren or Red Bull, yet we performed well throughout the entire weekend. As for the car’s performance, for some time now we’ve been focusing only on 2026, and that’s helping us manage this final part of the season,” Charles Leclerc explained.

With the result in Mexico, Ferrari has reclaimed second place in the Constructors’ Championship, overtaking a struggling Mercedes. The battle for that position, which carries more financial than symbolic value, promises to be tight in the final four rounds of the season. “It will be difficult to hold on to second place in the Constructors’ Championship,” Charles Leclerc admitted during the press conference. “Looking at the last two races, I would say yes, but looking at the ones before, I’d say no. We have to take it race by race. It’s not easy to perform at our best in every situation, but that will be our goal — hopefully it will be enough.”