2025 Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team

[dialtone]

Seems to me like today was used as another testing day from the team - both drivers said they felt pretty good about how the day went. Charles still thinks there is more potential although they are not able to reach the level of McL.

I think there was a lap with LEC -0.4s on RUS and HAM was -0.8s. Then red flag or traffic ruined it. Not sure how the practice went after that (around half time of fp2).

[Xyz22]

Jeez this thread is so negative

Expectations were very high so yeah.

[Waz]

Someone needs to be reponsible to how we got lost after such a strong 2nd half of last year. Mercedes after being --- for 3 years suddenly looks much better than we.
Someone really needs to be responsible for decision to change completely car concept at end of reg

The problem isn't that they were bold, it's that the changes they did make aren't working as well as hoped.

Ferrari were not happy to be 2nd this year. They were aiming to have the best car, and simply sticking with what we were doing with the 2024 car wasn't gonna be enough as that car had inherent weaknesses that would have prevented us from being good enough all round.

They absolutely made the right decision to try something different, especially in light of this being the end year of regulations, as it means there was little to lose.

Spout this as if it's gospel that an evolved SF-24 would have been uncompetitive. We will never know that.

What has happened though is that Ferrari built a car that seems to have lost its strengths without improvement in any area.

Ultra sensitive to ride height.
Doesn't ride kerbs well.
Very stiff suspension.
No tire wear advantage.

It's all good pointing to previous seasons that they recovered well, but they didn't win any of those.

Maybe I will be wrong, but it's such a waste of time to bring a car you don't understand.

[Seanspeed]

Spout this as if it's gospel that an evolved SF-24 would have been uncompetitive. We will never know that.

What has happened though is that Ferrari built a car that seems to have lost its strengths without improvement in any area.

Ultra sensitive to ride height.
Doesn't ride kerbs well.
Very stiff suspension.
No tire wear advantage.

It's all good pointing to previous seasons that they recovered well, but they didn't win any of those.

Maybe I will be wrong, but it's such a waste of time to bring a car you don't understand.

Ferrari themselves, you know, the team of professionals with actual real world expertise in this subject and obviously of their own car, seemed to also believe that simply evolving the 2024 car wasn't gonna be enough. Which is honestly pretty much just common sense. In F1, to rid yourself of more fundamental car issues, you usually need an off-season to make larger core changes to the car.

But I'm sure you know better than they do. Obviously sticking with the limited 2024 fundamentals would totally have been the better way to try and compete for a title, especially when it looks like Mclaren have themselves made a pretty big leap over winter. smh

This argument that they should have been complacent rather than bold is coming from a purely reactionary viewpoint, one rooted 100% in hindsight.

[continuum16]

Ultra sensitive to ride height.
Doesn't ride kerbs well.
Very stiff suspension.
No tire wear advantage.

Sounds a lot like 2022 and 2023 Mercedes that Loic Serra worked on, doesn't it? Given he joined in autumn 2024 I am 99% sure this is a coincidence. But not 100%.

My point is that it does not give me a lot of confidence that these problems will be solved in a timely manner.

[SoulPancake13]

Ultra sensitive to ride height.
Doesn't ride kerbs well.
Very stiff suspension.
No tire wear advantage.

Sounds a lot like 2022 and 2023 Mercedes that Loic Serra worked on, doesn't it? Given he joined in autumn 2024 I am 99% sure this is a coincidence. But not 100%.

My point is that it does not give me a lot of confidence that these problems will be solved in a timely manner.

Serra spent absolutely 0 minutes working on the SF25. This is total conjecture.

[JPower]

I think they'll be right around where they were last year around Suzuka, which is about 3rd quickest. Maybe some fortunate circumstances lead to a podium.

[ringo]

Someone needs to be reponsible to how we got lost after such a strong 2nd half of last year. Mercedes after being --- for 3 years suddenly looks much better than we.
Someone really needs to be responsible for decision to change completely car concept at end of reg

The problem isn't that they were bold, it's that the changes they did make aren't working as well as hoped.

Ferrari were not happy to be 2nd this year. They were aiming to have the best car, and simply sticking with what we were doing with the 2024 car wasn't gonna be enough as that car had inherent weaknesses that would have prevented us from being good enough all round.

They absolutely made the right decision to try something different, especially in light of this being the end year of regulations, as it means there was little to lose.

Spout this as if it's gospel that an evolved SF-24 would have been uncompetitive. We will never know that.

What has happened though is that Ferrari built a car that seems to have lost its strengths without improvement in any area.

Ultra sensitive to ride height.
Doesn't ride kerbs well.
Very stiff suspension.
No tire wear advantage.

It's all good pointing to previous seasons that they recovered well, but they didn't win any of those.

Maybe I will be wrong, but it's such a waste of time to bring a car you don't understand.

It could be that in the pursuit of performance, these "issues" are actually characteristics of being at a higher level. Notice how McLaren also have the symptoms but are just managing it better. Riding kerbs well, pliable suspension, wider window, nice tyre life may well be characterists of a ground effect car that isn't at the limit of performance. Going closer to the ground and controlling the aero platform in a tighter window of movement has it's sacrifices.
SF25 seems not too bad compared to RB21. It's just to find that break through in this season to remedy the symptoms of maxing out the limits.
I dont think the MCL39 is going to get any quicker. I feel its at the limit right before being undrivable. The others can catch them earlier than we think.