Ferrari still cannot shake off the label of being the so-called Friday champions, a reputation that has haunted the Scuderia for several seasons now. In Baku, both driving mistakes and questionable strategic errors during qualifying compromised the overall outcome of the weekend. At the same time, it was difficult to genuinely believe that the SF-25 truly had the pace and consistency required to fight for victory. In both the third free practice session and in qualifying, the drivers were unable to set competitive lap times with the same relative ease they showed on the opening day. In the first stint of the Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton struggled to keep up with Yuki Tsunoda and Lando Norris, eventually admitting that the car’s race pace was not really at the necessary level.
In Formula 1 there is never just a single explanation for poor performance, and in the case of Ferrari the issues seem to extend beyond the SF-25 itself. Alongside the car’s technical limitations, the spotlight also falls on trackside engineering and the interaction between the track department and the design office back in Maranello.
A neutral car
Two-thirds into the 2025 Formula 1 season, the Ferrari SF-25 has established itself as a car without any standout strengths but also without glaring weaknesses. The Italian team no longer manages to display the kind of standout performances that were sometimes seen in the past on unusual circuits, such as tight and twisty street tracks or at Monza, where the cars run in extremely low downforce configuration. Paradoxically, this lack of peaks could also be interpreted as a positive sign, pointing towards a conceptual shift that aims to enhance different performance aspects compared to previous years. The clear intention has been to develop a car that is more versatile and consistent across a full championship rather than one that excels in only a handful of specific conditions.
This season, both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have complained far less about issues of aerodynamic instability. Although Ferrari still struggles somewhat in medium-speed and slow-speed corners, the strong showing at the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest—a track that had traditionally been a very difficult one for Ferrari—suggests that progress has been made.
In this respect, Ferrari shows some similarities to the currently dominant McLaren team. This parallel supports the decision to pursue a conceptual overhaul, but Ferrari remains behind overall, unable to fully capitalize on moments of vulnerability shown by their papaya rivals. The truth is that a design revolution of this scale cannot be completed within a single season. The main issue is the significant delay accumulated during the previous years of stagnation, when the team stubbornly continued down a technical path that ultimately failed to deliver a car competitive enough on benchmark circuits.
Similarly, the radical decision to abandon the 2024 philosophy and adopt a pull-rod front suspension to enable better aerodynamic development was not an error. If anything, the mistake was failing to make that change earlier, without recognizing that both McLaren and Red Bull’s architecture offered greater room for growth.
Some like it hot
A recurring characteristic of the Ferrari SF-25 this year has been the noticeable drop in competitiveness from Friday to Saturday. This can partly be explained by different run programs across the sessions and the possible use of more aggressive engine modes early in the weekend. In Baku, the situation was made worse by a significant evolution of track conditions: the surface cooled by about six degrees Celsius from Friday to qualifying, while at the same time the wind picked up considerably. As Frédéric Vasseur observed, Ferrari—like McLaren—tends to perform at its best in hotter conditions, while Red Bull and especially Mercedes usually become more competitive when the temperature drops.
The same pattern had already been seen earlier in the year at Silverstone, when the drop in track temperature on Saturday was more than ten degrees. That weekend underlined just how sensitive these modern ground-effect Formula 1 cars are to variations in environmental conditions.
Ferrari, however, appears to suffer even more than its direct competitors from these swings in temperature. This raises questions about whether the issue is linked to the design itself, perhaps reflecting an operating window that is too narrow. Another relevant question is whether difficulties in managing ride height are forcing Ferrari to adopt extreme mechanical setups that further compromise the situation. Whatever the explanation, the impression is that the SF-25’s particular sensitivity cannot be reduced simply to the natural limits of ground-effect cars.
The other engineering
There are also other factors that go beyond the car itself. Ferrari’s lack of progression over the course of race weekends is also linked to ineffective setup choices, something that the drivers themselves admitted at Baku. Charles Leclerc acknowledged that the approach he had taken with the setup was not the right one, which forced him to change several things before qualifying. Lewis Hamilton also pointed out that both the team’s choice of setup and the execution during qualifying were far from ideal.
In Azerbaijan, Ferrari opted for the lower-downforce rear wing configuration during Friday practice, but this later proved costly as the wind increased and the track temperature dropped, which made it even harder to switch on the tyres. However, the issue does not appear to be limited only to aerodynamic load. Based on the feedback from both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, it seems that mechanical setup choices at both Monza and Baku hurt balance and driveability, forcing the team to readjust ahead of qualifying.
A similar situation unfolded at Silverstone, while the opposite occurred at Zandvoort, where Ferrari had to correct an initial base setup that was far from optimal. These kinds of scenarios raise serious questions about the track engineering department, which is responsible for preparing the setup and extracting maximum performance from the car. This is an area in which the drivers are directly involved. It is also precisely in this area that Red Bull has managed to make an important step forward in recent months, an aspect often highlighted as one of Ferrari’s main weaknesses.
Tyre troubles
Another important issue to consider is the difference in performance Ferrari shows between single-lap qualifying pace and long-run race consistency. This discrepancy magnifies the lack of competitiveness and forces Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton to push harder during qualifying, which naturally increases the likelihood of mistakes.
Over the past two years, the Maranello design office has prioritized race pace during development, which helps explain why the SF-25 tends to work better with both aerodynamics and tyres over long stints. One could argue that in 2025 qualifying performance is more crucial than it was back in 2022, when overtaking was somewhat easier, but this characteristic can still be interpreted as a positive one, and it is also a trait shared with McLaren. It reflects part of Ferrari’s conceptual renewal compared to the past, when strong single-lap pace in qualifying did not necessarily translate into race victories.
However, the disappointing results on Saturdays also highlight Ferrari’s ongoing struggles in preparing new tyres. It is not unusual to see Ferrari performing well in practice on used tyres, only to struggle to find extra grip from fresh rubber when it really matters in qualifying. In Baku, all teams faced difficulties on a circuit where tyre warm-up is notoriously tricky, and there was general indecision about whether the C5 or the C6 compound would be the best option. Nevertheless, Ferrari once again appeared to suffer more than anyone else, as was also the case earlier in the season at Imola, exposing yet another weakness.
Tyre management, as explained back in February by Loic Serra, is closely linked not only to the car itself but also to how the human element—the drivers and the engineers—interacts with it. In Baku, for the first time during Frédéric Vasseur’s management, Ferrari introduced new front brake ducts mid-season in an effort to optimize tyre warm-up. This could be seen as a sign of growing attention to this area, but the road to improvement remains long.
A bridge between track and factory
The recurring issues of tyre management, operating window, and execution remind everyone in Formula 1 that beyond design, track engineering and, above all, communication between the two areas are just as crucial. The most striking example of this balance is the 2023 Red Bull, a car conceived to be run with high ride height in order to give greater freedom to adjust balance through the suspension.
From 2024 onwards, Ferrari has shown a different vision compared to its past, placing more value on drivability already in the design phase, with the clear objective of creating a car that can then be more effectively exploited at the track.
That said, a technical gap still remains, one that goes beyond the SF-25’s lack of outright pace. There is considerable curiosity about what impact Loic Serra will have with his first Ferrari car, scheduled for the 2026 season. The French engineer, who comes from a background heavily rooted in track engineering, could play a key role in strengthening the bridge between the two departments, widening the overall vision of the project. All of this, however, depends on whether the working environment at Maranello allows for transparent discussions, where limitations are acknowledged and addressed openly, rather than being dismissed as isolated incidents.
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