Rene Arnoux believes in the new Ferrari: SF-25 has changed a lot, yet it’s right there with McLaren”. The F1 tests in Bahrain have convinced René Arnoux.

The Formula 1 season is about to begin, and the Ferrari SF-25 has received René Arnoux’s endorsement in its battle against McLaren. A car that has changed significantly from last season but is already in the wake of the MCL39. There is still work to be done ahead of the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, but there are good reasons to be optimistic. The 2025 season promises to be highly competitive.

Drawing conclusions from the recently concluded Bahrain tests is no easy task. As Lewis Hamilton also pointed out, the current generation of cars—now in their final iteration—conceals unprecedented complexities. From one circuit to another, performance levels can shift, favoring one car over another and potentially shaking up the world championship standings.

McLaren’s race pace is an undeniable fact, yet it does not guarantee a certain outcome for the upcoming season. In the first few races, several teams will introduce significant upgrades that will define the trajectory of 2025 more clearly. Ferrari—like Mercedes and Red Bull—is not out of the fight yet and won’t be as long as Maranello continues working in the right direction.

Rene Arnoux: “McLaren started strong, but their superiority is not set in stone”

Reflecting on what was learned in Bahrain, René Arnoux expects a tightly contested championship: “It will be a balanced, hard-fought season,” he told Mario Salvini of Gazzetta dello Sport. “Every race, every circuit, with these cars, is a different story. The top teams are so close, and the cars are so complex that the pecking order can be turned upside down from one Grand Prix to the next.”

What Andrea Stella’s team has done well proves that “the car was born well,” but McLaren’s superiority is not set in stone: “What matters is how often they can maintain this advantage. There will be weekends where they’ll have to chase, and it will be important to see how they manage different challenges. The battle between Piastri and Norris, I think, will be inevitable.”

A Ferrari that has changed a lot but is already in the fight

As for the SF-25, there are good reasons to be optimistic: “It’s the car that has changed the most, yet it’s not far from McLaren,” the French legend pointed out. “In my opinion, that’s the most important fact. As I’ve said before, my hope is that Ferrari finds consistency. Last year, that was missing—there were races where Leclerc was lightning-fast and others where he struggled.”

“But it’s not like a driver is strong one Sunday and suddenly useless the next. That’s what it’s all about. In theory, Ferrari is the team that should be given the most time. The only problem is, time is not on their side.”

Source: f1ingenerale