Fred Vasseur blames ‘age of budget caps’ as Ferrari plans thwarted ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has blamed Formula 1’s budget cap for putting a dent in the Scuderia’s plans as they try to fight McLaren at the Japanese Grand Prix.

The Maranello natives already trail their rivals from Woking by 61 points in the constructors’ championship after the first two rounds of the season. McLaren emerged out of the gates at testing in Bahrain with the best 2025 car, and have exploited it to win in Australia and China.

Ferrari, in the meantime, have lurched from being competitive to chasing shadows and they achieved an unwanted feat in Shanghai with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton stripped of their P5 and P6 results. It was a massive comedown after the latter won the Shanghai Sprint.

F1’s budget cap makes it ‘too expensive’ for Ferrari to take upgrades to the Japanese GP

Hamilton won his first event for Ferrari in the Chinese GP Sprint after securing pole position, too. Yet he struggled for pace in the feature race and held up Leclerc, despite his front wing damage, after Ferrari changed Hamilton’s set-up at the Chinese GP and it ruined its balance.

It ultimately did not matter as Ferrari penned their first-ever double disqualification in China as Hamilton’s SF-25 sustained excessive wear to his rear plank and Leclerc’s car was 1kg underweight. So, Ferrari head to the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka hoping to turn a corner.

But team principal Vasseur has confirmed Hamilton and Leclerc will still have the same cars they used in Australia and China at the Japanese GP. He suggests, via Auto Motor und Sport, that F1’s budget cap now makes it simply ‘too expensive’ to take major upgrades to Suzuka.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory

“In the age of budget caps, you don’t bring major upgrades like front wings or underbody to Suzuka,” he said. “Not only would that be too expensive in terms of transport but you would also have to build too many kits because you can easily lose parts in accidents at Suzuka.”

Ferrari will unveil a floor upgrade at the 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix

While major upgrades are out of the question at Suzuka, Ferrari will modify Hamilton and Leclerc’s suspension settings in Japan to try and unlock more of the SF-25’s potential they failed to in China. Ferrari believe their simulator data proves their car can be competitive.

Upgrades are even in the pipeline, with Ferrari due to unveil a floor upgrade at the Bahrain Grand Prix next week. It will be the first major change that the Scuderia make to their 2025 car to try and reduce their deficit to McLaren, with Mercedes also level or ahead of Ferrari.

The Silver Arrows bagged back-to-back podiums in Australia and China with George Russell finishing the opening two Grands Prix in third place. So, Ferrari cannot leave it too long to introduce upgrades if they are to fight back in the F1 constructors’ championship this year.