After a supreme turnaround in the second half of the 2024 season, Ferrari got very close to ending their 16-year title drought. In the end, McLaren just had the legs on them as the Woking-based team won the Constructors’ title by just 14 points at the season-finale in Abu Dhabi.
That said, going into the 2025 season, Ferrari team principal, Frederic Vasseur won’t have any excuses for not delivering a title.
Former Ferrari F1 driver, Ivan Capelli believes that the Frenchman has done everything possible to mold the team into a championship-winning outfit since his arrival in 2023. This includes hiring key recruits and overseeing the development and production of the cars.
While it doesn’t guarantee that the Scuderia will win the 2025 world championship, Capelli opined that Vasseur has set a strong foundation to bring the trophy back to Maranello sooner rather than later. “If things continue to move positively for Ferrari, the possibility of victory will be higher than ever.”
“And Vasseur is evidently the great puppeteer of this change,” he explained in an exclusive interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport.
The 2025 season will be the last year under the incumbent ground effect regulations. And Ferrari’s decision to substantially change the concept of the SF-25 is a signal of intent from Vasseur that he doesn’t see this season as a stop-gap before the regulation reset in 2026.
FIRST PICS
You’re looking at the SF-25 Ferrari in all its glory. This is not the car you saw at last night’s season launch in London, this is the actual car that will be looking to clinch a Constructor’s championship for Ferrari this year.
It is on track now at Ferrari’s… pic.twitter.com/6o6mgXYycJ
— Kym Illman (@KymIllman) February 19, 2025
Rather, he sees it as his team’s best chance to win. The Frenchman has repeatedly claimed that Ferrari were not out of title contention even during his first two seasons as the team principal.
Heading into the 2025 season, that optimism is set to be bolstered, given the kind of bold changes Ferrari is aiming to introduce in this year’s car.
Ferrari’s key changes to SF-25 concept for 2025 title bid
It was revealed by Auto Racer, that the SF-25 is going to be a 99% new concept as compared to the previous year’s SF-24. This radical change has been made after learning about their car concept throughout 2024 and the arrival of seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton.
One of the biggest areas of change is going to be around the suspension of the 2025 car. Earlier iterations of the cars employed a push-rod suspension on the front axle and a pull-rod system on the rear. In 2025, the SF-25 will adopt the pull-rod model throughout the car.
The team has also taken to the drawing board to rejig the front end of the 2025 challenger. The main area of work has been done on the wheelbase. By extending it, the SF-25 will see a more pronounced gap between the front wheels and the cockpit.
This has allowed Ferrari to change the profile of its side pods. Now starting further behind the wheels than on the SF-24, the revamped sidepod design will help the team optimize airflow around the sidepod and the car’s underfloor.
Capelli is confident that these revolutionary changes will ensure that the SF-25 becomes the car to beat this season. “In Maranello they were certainly very brave because they did an extreme job, going beyond expectations, it really seems to me like a car born to want to win,” he concluded.
