Last Updated on August 3 2025, 6:35 pm
Whilst the head honcho’s at Ferrari HQ announced they were extending the team principal’s contract during the Hungarian Grand Prix, all is not well in Maranello. Having finished 2024 with the quickest Formula One car, the Scuderia made the decision not to evolve their rapid SF-24, but to build one which had “99% new parts,” according to Fred Vasseur.
The biggest change was around the front suspension, with the team deciding to ditch their previously preferred front end push rod system one using push rod technology. Whilst a number of reports emerged this was in an attempt to make the incoming Lewis Hamilton more comfortable, the real reason was in fact quite different.
As Ferrari looked to the huge regulation changes coming in 2026, the view of the technical team is the new power units and chassis design would favour a push rod methodology and the switch of course has compromised their progress made in 2024.
Ferrari suspension switch ruins season
The suspension on the current Ferrari car has proven difficult for the team to get to grips with and requires to be run as low to the ground as possible. At round two of this season, Hamilton was rapid in Sprint qualifying in Shanghai, taking pole and the race win on Saturday morning.
Yet the payback came a day later in the three times longer race of the Grand Prix, when after the chequered flag Lewis Hamilton was disqualified due to the plank on the underfloor had worn beyond the limits allowed in the regulations. The plank is used to by the FIA to adjudicated the legality of the ride height of the cars and clearly Ferrari had run Hamilton’s car with too low a setup.
At the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix, Leclerc stole a highly surprising pole position, although questions now arise as to how Ferrari achieved this through the setup of the car. The pace of the Ferrari was indeed a surprise to both McLaren drivers along with most of the paddock, yet this is now suspected to have been due to the team taking huge risk with the suspension setup.
Leclerc led the race between the two stoppers until he began his final stint on a new hard tyre. Within a lap of his final stop, the Monegasque was on the radio berating the team for something they apparently did while he was stationary.
Leclerc rages at Ferrari team
“This is so incredibly frustrating. We’ve lost all competitiveness. You just have to listen to me. I would have found a different way managing those issues. Now it’s just underivable. It’s a miracle if we finish on the podium,” revealed a clearly angry Charles Leclerc.
In a previous comment Leclerc made it clear he and the team had discussed a potential “issue” prior to the Grand Prix and a solution, but acted universally to solve the problem at the pit stop without discussing the matter with Leclerc.
Having run for some 40 laps at the leading pace along with the McLaren’s, Leclerc was suddenly over a second a lap slower than Pisatri and Norris. On only six laps fresher rubber, Piastri blew past the Ferrari into turn one as though his rival was driving a back of the grid Alpine. Leclerc next attempted to defend against Russell who had closed the gap, but again the overspeed of the Mercedes compared to the now stricken Ferrari was too much.
Leclerc was to eventually finish the Grand Prix in fourth place but a whipping 42 seconds behind race winner Lando Norris. Something drastic happened to the Ferrari and it came immediately after the second pit stop for tyres.
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Russell exposes Ferrari interference
Teams prefer not to reveal to each other, what particular difficulties they are having with their setup and this was true of Ferrari in Hungary. When Leclerc faced the usual media pen, he apologised for his outburst, claiming the problem which hijacked his Grand Prix was chassis related.
When asked why it was impossible to pass Leclerc on stints one and two, George Russell gave a fascinating insight into Ferrari’s woes. “We think they were running the car too low to the ground and had to increase the tyre pressure for the last stint because they were using a engine mode which was making the car slower at the end of the straight which is where you have the most amount of plank wear,” said the Mercedes driver.
When told of the Ferrari ‘chassis’ based explanation for Leclerc’s dramatic loss of pace, George Russell laughed declaring, “he’s not going to tell you they were close to being illegal.”
By raising the tyre pressure from the level it was on the first set of hard tyres, to Leclerc’s final set, the car was raised a few millimetres – enough to relieve the concern at Ferrari but the consequences are drastic. The increased pressure means the temperatures of the rubber is raised much more quickly which in turn provides less grip and explains the loss in lap time suffered by Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton reveals unrest at Ferrari
His comment that maybe he could have managed the issue rather than have his team interfere relates to another solution Ferrari have deployed this season when ride heights have been critical. If the driver uses a ‘lift and coast’ braking technique, the rear of the car rises up as he comes off the throttle earlier going into the corner. This in turn means the plank wear is diminished and keeps the car legal for scrutineering at the end of the race.
For Ferrari to admit they were about to be disqualified for running their cars at an illegal height would be highly embarrassing, particularly after China’s DSQ, so Leclerc easily merely towing the party line when he spoke in the media pen.
In a way he was right in that the problem was “chassis related” and Lewis Hamilton inadvertently confirmed Ferrari have issues which make them look bad in his post race comments. The British driver was monosyllabic in his interview, claiming he didn’t remember the Verstappen move at turn four which was being investigated by the stewards.
The despondent Hamilton muttered “theres a lot going on in the background” suggesting unrest within Ferrari, implying there are big issues in Maranello, which Ferrari would prefer stay private.
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Read the second paragraph of your article about the Ferrari front suspension. It does not make sense.
This just appalling. A basic grammar check might help.
Ai strikes again?
Also since when does increasing tire pressure result in the tire running hotter? Increased pressure means a smaller contact patch, less friction, lower temperatures, but also less grip.