Ted Kravitz makes bleak Ferrari prediction after first glimpse of Lewis Hamilton’s Imola upgrade, ‘if I’m honest’

Ferrari have upgraded their car on their return to Italy for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. But Ted Kravitz is underwhelmed by their latest innovations.

Ferrari’s changes are focused on the rear of the SF-25. They have introduced a new rear wing, a new beam wing and a series of winglets to direct the airflow.

The Scuderia have only scored one podium at Imola since the iconic circuit, which is named after their founder Enzo and his son Dino, returned to the calendar. That came courtesy of Charles Leclerc last year.

Fred Vasseur’s squad arrive at the first of two home races (Monza in September is the second) fourth in the constructors’ championship, already more than 150 points behind McLaren.

Leclerc was seventh last time out in Miami, with Lewis Hamilton eighth. The 57-second gap to race-winner Oscar Piastri illustrates just how vital the early stages of the development are for Ferrari.

Ted Kravitz left disappointed by Ferrari upgrades at Imola

Ferrari are focused on Spain as the point where they could make most progress. But they still hope this weekend’s updates will be ‘significant’.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Kravitz admitted that he was expecting more from the 16-time F1 champions. He did point out that they’ve only recently revised their floor.

However, he told the Tifosi not to expect a podium finish this weekend. Leclerc bagged the team’s only top-three finish of the year so far in Saudi Arabia.

“Down here at Ferrari, we have to talk about them because they’re still looking to fix this car,” Kravitz said. “They’ve brought three small, but they hope significant, changes to their car this weekend.

“The first two are around the rear wing. It’s a new rear wing and a new beam wing. It’s slightly higher downforce, but they’re also hoping that there’s some downforce from these very complicated revised winglets.

“If I’m honest, I was expecting maybe a bit more. Of course, Ferrari did bring a new floor a couple of races ago. They’ll be hoping that package, together with the new rear wing, the beam wing and those little winglets will help them move up the grid this weekend.”

He later added: “Will those upgrades be enough to put Ferrari on the podium here? I don’t think so.”

Lewis Hamilton produced one of his best quotes as a Ferrari driver before Emilia Romagna GP

Kravitz’s Sky colleague Jacques Villeneuve is also skeptical about Ferrari’s upgrades. He believes the team desperately need to widen their car’s operating window.

“Do they really have new bits that will allow the drivers to drive harder?” Villeneuve asked. “The car doesn’t lack in performance, but they’re out of that window so easily. It seems that a little bit of ride height, a little bit of something, and they lose all their downforce.”

Morale is low at Ferrari right now, with Hamilton unable to lift his team’s spirits as he’s done in the past. His defeatist statements earlier in the season may have had an adverse impact.

Still, Hamilton told his critics to judge him in a few years – not after a handful of races – during his Thursday media duties. Kravitz called it ‘one of the lines of the day’.