How Ferrari unlocked the SF-25’s pace by lowering ride height in Austin. Ferrari’s remarkable recovery at the United States Grand Prix had a clear technical explanation.

The Ferrari revival seen at the United States Grand Prix in Austin had a precise technical explanation. The SF-25 configuration originally approved for the weekend had been overly conservative, as the engineers feared the bumps and uneven surface of the Circuit of the Americas. However, the Sprint race revealed that the car still had plenty of untapped potential — and that lowering the ride height could make a decisive difference.

Few have mentioned it, but there’s an interesting story behind Ferrari’s performance in Texas. The Scuderia managed to secure third and fourth place on Sunday after a very difficult Friday. Free practice sessions had shown a struggling SF-25 — Charles Leclerc even stopped due to a transmission failure — and the Sprint qualifying exposed both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton’s difficulties in handling a slow and tricky car. The Briton qualified eighth and his Maranello teammate tenth, nearly nine-tenths off the pace of the front runners.

It seemed the weekend would continue downhill, yet the Sprint race revealed a completely different Ferrari. Although four cars ahead of the red team — Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Nico Hülkenberg, and Fernando Alonso — retired on the opening lap, the race pace demonstrated by Ferrari over the 11 competitive laps (out of 19 total) was surprisingly strong and consistent.

Ferrari engineers change approach

So what exactly happened to the SF-25? It’s no secret that Ferrari’s car has often struggled in qualifying but tends to perform better in race conditions. The data collected, especially regarding tire wear, was encouraging enough for Matteo Togninalli’s trackside engineering team to take more risks ahead of Saturday’s qualifying session.

Charles Leclerc worked during the Sprint on differential settings to find more traction, but the decisive changes came later. Once parc fermé was reopened, the team had the opportunity to modify the setup based on the new data collected from Friday and Saturday.

The key realization was that Ferrari had been far too cautious in setting up the car. Engineers had feared the bumpy Texan surface, which has become increasingly uneven year after year due to the water table beneath parts of the track. Despite those concerns, the team decided to take a bold step — they lowered the SF-25’s ride height. In contrast, most rival teams who had started with aggressive setups were forced to raise their cars to avoid excessive plank wear, a problem that could have led to disqualification similar to Hamilton’s case in China.

A bold move pays off

Ferrari went against the trend of other top teams — and it paid off. The car’s performance improved dramatically. By the end of qualifying, Ferrari had solidified itself as the third-best team behind Red Bull and McLaren, but the gap had been reduced by seven-tenths compared to Friday. Leclerc even missed Lando Norris’ McLaren by just six thousandths of a second, an incredibly close margin in modern Formula 1.

The team from Maranello had finally found the right path. Unlike McLaren, which played it safe to preserve the car’s floor, Ferrari showed no fear of damaging the plank on the uneven surface. Their precision in qualifying was impressive, including perfectly timed pit releases that allowed both drivers a clean preparation lap to bring the tires into the optimal temperature window. The strong qualifying pace was then confirmed by a competitive race performance.

Leclerc and Hamilton lead Ferrari’s charge

Charles Leclerc started the Grand Prix on soft tires with the clear aim of overtaking Lando Norris at the start — a goal he achieved perfectly. Only towards the end, as the soft tires began to fade, did Norris regain second place. Leclerc’s drive was clean, consistent, and error-free, showcasing a confident Ferrari back at the sharp end of the grid.

Lewis Hamilton, less comfortable with the more aggressive setup, still managed to secure a solid fourth place, finishing ahead of Oscar Piastri’s McLaren MCL39. Ferrari’s double top-four finish was a sign of progress — a performance that rekindled the confidence that Ferrari chairman John Elkann has placed in team principal Fred Vasseur and his technical staff. It was a much-needed morale boost for the Maranello squad.

Eyes on Mexico

Next comes the Mexican Grand Prix, held at over 2,200 meters above sea level, where thin air drastically alters aerodynamic behavior. Teams will reach exceptionally high speeds despite running maximum downforce wings. The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez circuit, dedicated to the Rodriguez brothers, was the site of Ferrari’s most recent victory last year with Carlos Sainz. Early simulations suggest the Scuderia can aim for another strong weekend — and perhaps, unlike in Texas, their rivals won’t need to raise their cars so high.