Ferrari’s 2025 Formula 1 season is already teetering on the edge, with early results raising concerns that their campaign could unravel before it truly gains momentum.
Team boss Fred Vasseur has watched new recruit Lewis Hamilton experience a rollercoaster start, going from victory in a Sprint to disqualification just a day later. While some adaptation time was always expected for the seven-time world champion after his high-profile switch from Mercedes, teammate Charles Leclerc has also struggled to extract consistent performance from the SF-25.
Charles Leclerc, too, faced disqualification in China and has reportedly been uncomfortable with the car’s behaviour ever since pre-season testing began. With just three race weekends completed, Ferrari find themselves trailing McLaren by a daunting 76 points in the constructors’ standings.
That gap is unlikely to shrink in Bahrain, given the current pace deficit, but development efforts are already underway in Maranello to find performance gains ahead of the next Grand Prix. However, internal disagreement may be slowing progress.
Fred Vasseur at odds with Ferrari engineers over Bahrain upgrade plans
According to the Italian daily newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, a rift has emerged between French manager and Ferrari’s technical leadership regarding a planned floor upgrade for the SF-25. While Ferrari’s aero team believes the new floor shows promise in simulations, Frederic Vasseur and technical director Loïc Serra are not convinced it’s the right solution at this stage.
Hamilton has admitted to feeling a performance difference between his car and Charles Leclerc’s in Japan, though it remains unclear whether he’s referring to setup variation or hardware. His disqualification in Shanghai stemmed from excessive wear on the car’s plank – a consequence of running the car too low, something Hamilton has historically pushed for. The new floor is designed in part to mitigate the need for such low ride heights, potentially helping Hamilton regain confidence.
Although the floor is reportedly ready for deployment, Fred Vasseur and Loic Serra are hesitant. They argue that fundamental balance issues with the SF-25 must be resolved first. They worry that introducing new components now – especially ones tied to a larger upgrade package scheduled for Miami – could provide a false sense of improvement without tackling the root cause.
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The Ferrari team principal’s experience as interim technical director following Enrico Cardile’s departure last year gives him more technical insight than many team principals. Still, opposing wind tunnel data and simulations is a bold move, particularly when neither Hamilton nor Leclerc feel fully at ease in the current car.
This situation mirrors McLaren’s cautious strategy from 2024, when team principal Andrea Stella postponed a floor update over concerns about destabilising the car’s handling. Andrea Stella had watched rivals introduce updates that looked strong in theory but failed to deliver on track.
Fred Vasseur is wary of repeating Ferrari’s costly mistake from last season, when a poorly executed update at the Spanish Grand Prix derailed momentum and possibly jeopardised their constructors’ title hopes. With a deadline looming on Thursday to decide whether to run the new floor in Bahrain, Ferrari must choose between chasing short-term gains and sticking to a more cautious, long-term development path.
As rivals push forward, Ferrari can’t afford to lose further ground if they hope to stay in the title hunt.
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