Ferrari’s SF-25 failure: a lesson in what to avoid for 2026 F1 car. Ferrari’s SF-25 has revealed major design flaws, prompting the team to reassess its direction for 2026.

The SF-25 has had at least one “merit”: it has shown technical director Loic Serra which path not to take in defining next year’s Ferrari. After the Miami Grand Prix, the sixth race of the season, one concept became clear: the design of the latest ground-effect Ferrari was wrong, and with time still available before the regulatory overhaul, there’s room for a calm reassessment to avoid 2026 becoming another transitional year. This is especially important given that team president John Elkann has clearly stated the objective of bringing Ferrari back to title contention with agile single-seaters.

The Frenchman inherited an almost fully developed car, and its on-track results are painfully worse than the SF-24. Last year’s car, which finished second in the Constructors’ standings just 14 points behind McLaren, won five Grands Prix and, by the end of the season in Abu Dhabi, seemed to have reached the end of its development cycle. In short, there was nothing more to extract, which is why Frederic Vasseur approved a 99% new car with significant room for growth.

A break from the past was made to begin a new growth phase: the SF-25 was meant to be a high-potential car giving more freedom to the aerodynamicists, but instead, it has failed to meet expectations. Even if Frederic Vasseur will never admit it, this Ferrari is the product of a flawed concept. The soul of the 2024 car was radically changed: it used to be very agile at low speeds but lacked performance in fast corners. With the introduction of a new chassis, a pull-rod front suspension layout, and a shorter gearbox casing, Maranello ended up flipping the car’s characteristics: it now performs better in medium-to-fast corners but disappoints at low speeds. They shifted from one extreme to another without finding balance.

The French team principal is rightly defending his group, convinced that the SF-25 has the potential to be competitive, but they’ve been unable to extract it because the car’s operating window is too narrow—just one parameter slipping out of range is enough to lose performance.

Miami marked the SF-25 as the fifth-fastest team, even behind Williams, which is making big strides in its climb back to the front. From the start, the SF-25’s weaknesses have been evident, and engineers brought forward some solutions in Bahrain that were initially scheduled for Imola. Those changes failed to deliver the expected results within the Ferrari Racing Division.

The rear end is unstable, making the car unpredictable and difficult to drive, especially under braking. There’s a lack of rear aerodynamic load, and under braking the car shifts around too much, putting both drivers—who prefer carrying a lot of speed into corners—in difficulty.

The updates introduced in Sakhir brought a tenth of a second improvement, but it wasn’t enough to move back into competitive positions. At Imola, the first race of the European season, we’ll see some minor changes, but nothing that suggests a major step forward. More substantial updates are expected in Spain, coinciding with a race where the FIA will enforce much stricter checks on front wings. We can expect a new rear diffuser, detailed changes to the floor, and a revised mechanical setup aiming for stiffer suspensions that allow for lower ride heights.

In Maranello, there’s confidence that McLaren and Mercedes will be affected by the new FIA checks, and the Scuderia could close the gap—not necessarily to the untouchable papaya cars, but at least to Red Bull and Mercedes.

Ferrari is prepared to bet on the SF-25 until the summer break, which comes after the Belgian GP: it will be the 13th round before deciding whether to commit all financial and human resources to the 2026 F1 project. It’s likely that some updates are already planned for Monza and Singapore, but nothing more should be expected, as the budget cap is being prioritized for next year’s car. With what expectations?