There’s a recurring query among the many followers of the Prancing Horse: why did Ferrari utterly overhaul the structure of the automobile after ending second within the 2024 Formulation 1 Constructors’ Championship, simply 14 factors behind McLaren? Within the final yr of the bottom impact rules, the Italian facet determined to revamp its automobile, introducing 99% new elements based on Ferrari group principal Frederic Vasseur himself.
This difficulty has been extensively debated not solely on social media but additionally amongst varied insiders: why wasn’t the SF-24 growth continued, particularly contemplating it completed final season near the McLaren vehicles, whereas the SF-25, after three races, has plummeted to fourth place among the many prime groups, with a drastic drop in competitiveness?
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have already amassed a 76-point deficit to McLaren within the Constructors’ Championship forward of the Bahrain Grand Prix, having scored solely 35 factors to date in comparison with 111 from the Woking group, whereas Mercedes has earned 75 factors and Crimson Bull, which runs just one automobile within the prime 10, Max Verstappen‘s, has amassed 61 factors. There couldn’t have been a worse begin for the Maranello group, however the Italian facet by no means thought of deploying a “carry over” automobile.
The arrival of Lewis Hamilton was a further push to intention for a leap in high quality, with the assumption that Ferrari may intention for 2 World Championships earlier than the drastic regulatory adjustments anticipated for the 2026 Formulation 1 season.
So why was the 2025 automobile redesigned? The reply could be very easy: the SF-24 had only a few potentialities for aerodynamic enchancment and its growth would have been restricted in comparison with the evolution that rivals had deliberate.
The selection, subsequently, was proper, and within the 2025 price range cap, a major quantity was allotted to approve a brand new chassis with the cockpit moved additional again and a shorter, sleeker gearbox.
The concept was to shift the burden distribution barely towards the rear as a way to supply extra freedom to the aerodynamic group led by Diego Tondi. The SF-25 single-seater was designed to be underneath the burden restrict of 800 kilograms to have the choice of attaining the best steadiness by introducing ballast within the entrance wing, permitting the 0.5% weight distribution tolerance permitted by the rules to be adjusted as desired.
Moreover, the aerodynamic division had requested the chassis chief, Fabio Montecchi, to modify from the normal push rod entrance suspension to a pull rod system, already in use by Crimson Bull and McLaren. The wants, subsequently, weren’t mechanical however stemmed from the assumption that wind tunnel testing may yield extra downforce for efficiency.
And evidently, the info rising from the winter simulations needed to be constructive in comparison with the SF-24, fueling the championship hopes that had been repeatedly raised by the drivers and group leaders.
In China and Japan, we noticed F1 vehicles that had been about 1.5 seconds sooner than the earlier yr, which is a big enchancment contemplating that, normally, by the tip of a regulatory cycle, just a few tenths are discovered as a result of groups are already scraping the barrel with mature vehicles. Nevertheless, the home of playing cards started to break down in the course of the preseason testing session on the Bahrain Worldwide Circuit, when it grew to become clear that McLaren was extra aggressive and Ferrari was struggling.
Initially, consideration was targeted on the pull rod suspension: with the brand new setup, there might need been a necessity to regulate the setup, as very completely different stiffness changes are required. However the “difficulty” with the SF-25 automobile was not discovered there. Observers then shifted their focus to the rear finish, pointing to the transmission: the miniaturized carbon gearbox may undergo damaging torsions, stopping the rear from being sufficiently stiff to make the automobile responsive in course adjustments, leading to annoying understeer that was closely criticized by the drivers.
The Ferrari SF-25 automobile was designed to be targeted on the entrance, as each Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton want, with nice nook entry, however in actuality, it has considerably improved in high-speed sections, due to good aerodynamic effectivity, whereas it has misplaced its traction and dealing with in low-speed corners.
So, what’s lacking for Ferrari? One would possibly say the aerodynamic downforce that presses the automobile onto the monitor floor and generates the power to switch to the tires. With out sufficient downforce, the group is compelled to make use of minimal floor clearance, figuring out that the nearer the automobile is to the bottom, the extra the ground can create downforce. However the put on on the plank must be taken into consideration: the FIA permits consumption of 1 of the ten mm thickness of the plank, after which disqualifications are triggered, as occurred to Lewis Hamilton in China.
Past the embarrassment {that a} prestigious group like Ferrari shouldn’t enable, it’s evident that discovering rapid countermeasures is just not straightforward. The primary improve package deal for the SF-25 was scheduled for Imola, on the debut of the European season, however after the Sakhir assessments, it’s potential that the event plans had been introduced ahead primarily based on what emerged from the wind tunnel work.
So, we will count on modifications to the ground in Bahrain, together with different particulars, however it’s exhausting to assume the hole to the MCL39 and the improved Crimson Bull could be closed in a single go, as a result of the 3-4 tenths hole is just not straightforward to cut back, as others gained’t stand nonetheless both.
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