Ferrari are expected to unveil their first major upgrade of the 2025 F1 season at the Bahrain Grand Prix to try to fix issues with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc’s car.
The Scuderia have not enjoyed a strong start to the season, even when overlooking Ferrari’s first-ever double disqualification in China. Results have proven hard to come by for Hamilton and Leclerc with the SF-25 the third or fourth-fastest car in the field on a race-by-race basis.
Leclerc led the Maranello outfit’s hopes at the Japanese Grand Prix last weekend but the 27-year-old came home 13.968 seconds behind the podium places in a lonely P4. Hamilton also could only get P7 at Suzuka and even took the chequered flag 13.085s behind his teammate.
So, Ferrari intend to unveil a revised floor at the Bahrain GP they created to make the SF-25 more predictable. The Scuderia hope the changes increase the peak load stability of the car, but it is unlikely to yet completely dial out their issues with the rear end following the front.
Gary Anderson thinks Ferrari’s suspension could be a ‘big concern’ after raising their car’s ride height
The opening rounds of the 2025 F1 season have shown Ferrari’s rear-end is structurally too soft and is causing excessive wear to the skid block unless the Scuderia raise the ride height of Hamilton and Leclerc’s cars. Hamilton was disqualified in China for wear to his rear plank.
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And Gary Anderson has seen signs in Ferrari’s early-season struggles that hint the SF-25’s problems are at least partly due to the car’s mechanical platform. Ferrari changed the front suspension set-up on their 2025 F1 car in the winter to try to manage its ride height easier.
Anderson now feels their suspension could become a ‘big concern’ as Ferrari are unlikely to change their set-up mid-season. The ex-Jordan technical director especially fears for Ferrari if, as he is hearing, the team must raise their ride height to keep the rake of their car stable.
“Making in-season changes on either front or rear suspension geometry is very difficult,” he told The Race. “So, I don’t expect to see much difference between the early Grands Prix and the last race in Abu Dhabi.
“That could be a big concern for Ferrari… As we seem to be hearing, the Ferrari loses a lot of performance when they need to raise the ride height.
“And it’s no surprise to me – if they have indeed done as little as it visually appears with the percentage of anti-dive to support the front of the car under braking and reduce its rake change.”
Ferrari’s new floor at the Bahrain Grand Prix must be just the start of their upgrade plan
Hamilton and Leclerc face having to deal with Ferrari’s ride height problems through at least the Bahrain GP this weekend and the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix next week. Ted Kravitz thinks Ferrari could fix their car problems at the Miami Grand Prix on May 2-4 after a week’s break.
But the Scuderia’s problems could prove to be more multifaceted as team boss Fred Vasseur and Leclerc disagree on Ferrari’s focus to fix the SF-25. Leclerc is urging his Maranello crew to introduce more significant updates than Vasseur, who wants to work on the car’s balance.
Their revised floor for the Bahrain GP is at least the start of Ferrari’s efforts to improve their car. But it is unlikely to be the golden ticket that unlocks the SF-25’s performance and hands Hamilton and Leclerc a car capable of scoring Ferrari’s first Grand Prix podium of the season.
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