Ferrari is very active, that must be acknowledged. The SF-25 single-seater will appear in Monte Carlo with a livery dedicated to the 75-year collaboration with Shell, the Dutch multinational that has launched a very important partnership with the Maranello team, going well beyond the commercial aspect and becoming strategic when e-fuels start playing a key role in the red car’s performance.
The team’s ability to make the most of every marketing opportunity always keeps the Prancing Horse in the spotlight. The same cannot be said for the speed with which the Maranello single-seater is developed by the technical department.
At Imola, we saw a rear wing with a beam wing taken from the SF-24’s inventory, and a similar operation will be repeated in Monaco, reusing existing high-downforce profiles that will not affect the budget cap. The real updates will come more gradually: at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain we will see the new front wing able to pass the stricter flexibility checks. Some teams, like Mercedes, already used that specification in Emilia-Romagna, while the floor evolution will follow shortly after, as a prelude to the long-awaited rear suspension upgrade.
The Ferrari seen at Imola was unquestionably the car with the stiffest setup and the highest ride height: the introduction of new suspension arms in the second half of July should allow the SF-25 car to be much less problematic under braking. The rear end, especially during load changes, tends to lift, losing downforce precisely when maximum vertical load is needed.
Since redoing the carbon gearbox casing is off the table due to cost constraints, Ferrari’s engineers and technicians can only move the suspension mounts to parts of the transmission casing that are rigid enough to bear structural loads. The talk is of moving some linkages by 20 millimeters or slightly more, whereas an internal redesign would require resources and time they do not have.
The SF-25, therefore, is expected to turn a corner before the British Grand Prix, as reported by various Italian news media outlets: the full aerodynamic upgrade package should be ready by Silverstone, and in Loic Serra’s plans there is hope to finally put a red car on track capable of closing the gap to the leaders.
Obviously, no one in the Ferrari Racing Department is still talking about the championship – that would be heresy – but the aim is to return Ferrari to the performance level it deserves, pulling it out of the black hole it has fallen into. The new rear suspension is the result of highly detailed simulator work, followed by testing on dynamic rigs. Before final approval, the team wants to be certain the modification delivers the expected outcome, and it would not be surprising if the design has been updated during testing.
All the more so because the insights gathered during this thorough study phase will be very useful for the 678 project as well. The Maranello team is also trying to understand another key aspect of this season’s performance: managing the rear brake ducts to control tyre temperatures under traction and avoid the inevitable overheating that causes sliding. The qualifying crisis seen at Imola very likely stems from this area: the red car is too sensitive to changes in track surface temperature, and setup corrections often do not meet the demands.
Ferrari, fully aware of the challenges, has not lost heart and is seeking redemption, but before the turnaround arrives, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton will need to remain very patient.
— see video above —
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