Optimizing is no longer enough: Ferrari needs a breakthrough in Jeddah. Ferrari arrives in Jeddah aiming to optimize performance.

Ferrari arrives in Jeddah away from the spotlight. In Formula 1 it is always wise to do so, since big statements are often not followed through, especially when it comes to the Prancing Horse. The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix features a tough track and, at this particular moment of the 2025 Formula 1 season, aside from the layout, it is still difficult to understand whether or not it might favor the red car. Better to let the track do the talking.

At the 5.412-kilometre Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, the first of the two SF-25 cars finished in fourth place, exactly like in Japan, while Lewis Hamilton managed a comeback to finish just behind his Maranello teammate. If we analyze the context in detail, we can see that in the second stint, the Italian cars were strong. All true. But there was a significant tire compound advantage that, once gone, revealed something else entirely.

Ferrari was no longer faster than the McLaren MCL39 cars and George Russell who, on Soft tires, was able to keep an excellent pace without ever being troubled by Charles Leclerc. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton stayed ahead of another Mercedes, Kimi Antonelli’s, who finished eleventh, and Max Verstappen’s Red Bull RB21, which struggled badly with the tires and could not show the true pace it had displayed in Suzuka.

The rest of the cars behind the Briton were not exactly lightning fast: we are talking Alpine, Haas, Williams, Racing Bulls, Aston Martin, and Sauber. All teams that, regardless of the events, should be behind Ferrari. Adding such a major component as the floor to the car is never easy. It needs to be analyzed, understood, and made to work as best as possible. However, saying there was a step forward in terms of lap times seems like an overstatement.

Especially considering Lewis Hamilton’s enthusiasm on Thursday, when the Briton was excited about an upgrade that was supposed to fix all problems—which, if you just watch the onboard footage from the first free practice session on Friday up to the race on Sunday, were still largely present in most sessions. We are not against Ferrari, but at the same time we can’t ignore the similar behavior and the gap in overall race pace.

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur says a small step forward was made. Without a doubt, he knows more than we do, especially after carefully analyzing all the data collected in Bahrain. He spoke of a small step in competitiveness which, we repeat, does not seem so evident to us. In Charles Leclerc’s qualifying lap, the Monegasque outdid himself. He drove beyond the car’s limits, but even in that lap, corrections were still needed.

Lewis Hamilton was even worse, with performance going unexpressed. As for the race, as we have already said: on Mediums, with the advantage of fresher tires, the pace was good—but the moment that extra grip was gone, Mercedes and McLaren, on older tires, were faster. Not to mention the Hards, where the performance was poor. Nevertheless, we want to trust Frederic Vasseur.

It wouldn’t be wise for him, despite the low profile, to claim something that did not exist. Therefore, would be happy to see this small step, or who knows, maybe a bigger one, materialize in just a few days at the Jeddah circuit. All of this if we are talking about pure performance. If, instead, it is about optimizing the result, fine, but that’s another matter. At this point, Ferrari cannot just maximize; if that’s the goal, you don’t even get on the podium.

The goal is something else, right? Focusing on themselves? Excellent. Extracting the maximum from the car? Very good. But to close the gap, updates that make a difference are needed. A clear one. Let’s hope that in Saudi Arabia, that’s the case, because maybe the new floor works much better after having studied it on track. In short, we are eagerly awaiting this upward leap from the red car.

— see video above —