The Ferrari Formula One team hunted down McLaren across the last six race weekends in 2024. The SF-24 was the class of the field in the last quarter of the season, closing a 79 point gap to the papaya liveried team to just fourteen when the chequered flag closed out the year in Abu Dhabi.
Yet Ferrari strangely decided to build a whole new car for 2025, despite the current set of car design regulations coming to an end this year. Meanwhile McLaren opted for evolution for this year’s F1 challenger, a decision in hindsight which has proven to the better route to take.
The engineers in Maranello believed they needed to switch their suspension philosophy for the big regulation changes coming next season. They switched their traditional push rod layout at the front of the car to a pull rod system instead. This would improve the aerodynamics of the airflow around the car, but more importantly improve the anti-dive characteristics of the SF-25 allowing the team to access setups which would allow the car to be run lower to the ground.
Pivotal moment for Ferrari
Yet disaster was ahead for the Scuderia and their new driver Lewis Hamilton who claimed Sprint pole at round two in China. In what looked like a breakthrough moment for his fledgling Ferrari career, Hamilton won the Sprint on Saturday morning before qualifying in fifth place for the Grand Prix, ahead of his team mate.
Yet hours after the chequered flag fell, Hamilton was disqualified from the Grand Prix for excessive plank wear on his underfloor, a measure used by the FIA to ensure the cars are running a ‘legal’ ride height. Ferrari’s new suspension had allowed them to run the car lower, which with the ground effect cars tends to be quicker, but in Shanghai the team’s decision on ride height for Hamilton proved to be most costly.
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has now admitted that Lewis Hamilton’s disqualification at the Chinese Grand Prix set the Scuderia on the back foot in 2025, forcing a conservative approach to car setup that has cost valuable performance ever since. He now firms that Ferrari were forced to raise the SF-25’s ride height after Lewis exclusion, effectively detuning the car to avoid repeat disqualifications.
Progress with new suspension
“The disqualifications threw us off track a bit,” he admits to Auto Motor und Sport. “We had to leave ourselves a safety margin in terms of ground clearance. These cars are extremely sensitive—every millimetre is a position on the starting grid. If you don’t have full control over the vehicle height, it affects competitiveness.”
Ferrari’s shift in setup was compounded by what Vasseur describes as “quality issues” and operational errors. “We lost our way a bit there,” he conceded, noting that the team’s focus was diverted from crucial details such as tyre preparation and qualifying execution. As McLaren disappeared over the horizon in the constructor’s race, Ferrari’s gamble on a new package has been a mistake. With a competitive package like the SF-24 being refined, this season’s race for championship glory, we could be looking at a championship or two for the Scuderia – their first since 2008.
A major rear-suspension upgrade introduced at Spa was intended to restore the lost performance and next time out Charles Leclerc delivered pole position in Hungary, suggesting progress had been made. He led the Ferrari’s with ease from the off, but his pace disappeared altogether on his third set of tyres. The team had again become concerned over the ride height of the Monegasques car and pushed up the pressure on his final set of tyres to protect from being disqualified as Hamilton had in Shanghai.
Aston Martin owner faces toughest decision yet
Ferrari missteps well catalogued
All of this has left Ferrari staring at a familiar picture: second place in the Constructors’ standings but nowhere near the leaders. With ten races to go, the Scuderia trail McLaren by an eye-watering 299 points.
Vasseur acknowledges that McLaren’s superiority is particularly evident in tyre management, especially in hot or wet conditions. “McLaren is outstanding at tyre management,” he admitted. “They are simply executing better in those scenarios.” Ferrari’s inconsistency is laid bare in the results. Leclerc has managed a handful of podiums and one pole, while Hamilton, still adapting to life in red, has yet to register a grand prix podium. The contrast with McLaren, who operate with clinical efficiency, could not be starker.
So Ferrari’s grand 2025 reset looks like another chapter in a well-worn saga: high expectations, bold declarations, followed swiftly by missteps, excuses, and damage control. Hamilton’s exclusion in Shanghai may have forced the team to run higher than ideal, but in truth, Ferrari have a long history of tripping over the basics. From the fuel irregularities scandal of 2019, to the operational confusion of 2022, to strategy blunders that became memes in 2023, this is a team that finds fresh ways to get in its own way.
Hamilton’s unwanted Ferrari record
This year’s tale has its own bitter irony. By raising the car’s ride height, Ferrari deliberately stepped back from the performance limit. In a sport measured in tenths, the Scuderia have essentially conceded grid positions before the lights even go out. It is a metaphor for Ferrari in the modern era: always present, always competitive enough to tease, yet never good enough to deliver.
Hamilton, meanwhile, has been left playing the role of frustrated star. He has called himself “useless” more than once this season, a self-critical barb that hides a deeper truth: even the greatest drivers cannot win when the machinery is compromised by paranoia over scrutineering. The Briton left Mercedes in search of a final chapter of glory, but so far he has found only headaches in red.
Vasseur insists that determination will be the fuel for Ferrari’s recovery. “Resilience is important in this sport,” he said. “We will make steps. It is not overwhelming.” But the reality is sobering. Every millimetre of ride height sacrificed is a tenth of performance gone. Every cautious choice Ferrari makes to avoid another scrutineering embarrassment widens the gulf to McLaren. And with the 2026 regulation overhaul looming, the clock has run down already out for the Scuderia hopes of a revival.
The SF-25 may yet collect podiums, but championships are already out of reach. Ferrari are again left to sell hope for tomorrow while enduring disappointment today. Hamilton has five race weekends to avoid the embarrassing Ferrari record, currently held by Didier Pironi. He went eighteen race weekends without a podium after joining the Maranello based outfit and on current form, Hamilton will pass this milestone come the post race celebrations at the USGP in Austin Texas.
Mercedes therapy session: Russell pays a shrink
Formula One driver George Russell has offered a rare look behind the curtain of his time as Lewis Hamilton’s teammate at Mercedes, explaining how a carefully cultivated psychological approach helped him remain unfazed by the task of sharing a garage with Formula 1’s most successful driver.
The 27-year-old partnered Hamilton from 2022 through 2024, a turbulent era in which Mercedes struggled with the ground-effect regulations. Yet within that turbulence, Russell quietly built his own reputation. He finished ahead of Hamilton in the Drivers’ standings in two of their three years together, cementing himself as more than just an understudy.
Speaking on the *UnTapped* podcast, Russell revealed that he worked closely with his psychologist to keep Hamilton’s achievements from weighing on him. “I had a really good conversation with my psychologist about how I should deal with the pressure of being his teammate,” he explained. “The conclusion was simple: once I walk into the garage, put my helmet on and visor down, it shouldn’t matter if my teammate is a seven-time World Champion, a rookie, or no one at all. I’m in control of my own destiny. It’s on me to perform.”….. READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
