Lando Norris
McLaren
Mercedes
Red Bull
Ferrari
Williams
Racing Bulls
Aston Martin
Haas
Alpine
Ferrari are heading into the Bahrain Grand Prix with the fourth-fastest Formula 1 car in 2025, after a dramatic fall over the winter.
Lewis Hamilton’s arrival in Maranello was meant to help elevate their performance to a new level, but they have just fallen backwards so far.
Ferrari’s winter developments for the SF25 have not worked, and they have fallen back behind Mercedes and maybe Red Bull too.
Neither driver sits in the top five of the drivers’ championship and three races have yielded zero podiums. Far more was expected of them before pre-season testing.
Hamilton surprised everyone at Ferrari by thanking his colleagues with a three-word Italian message at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Jacques Villeneuve believes Hamilton’s onboard was ‘not a good sign’ for Ferrari, with a lot of sliding during the race. The rear of the car just does not appear to be connected with the track.
Lewis Hamilton will be delighted to see Ferrari ‘equipped’ with Bahrain Grand Prix upgrade
It’s clear that after three races, Ferrari have no chance of winning anything during this Formula 1 season without upgrading their car.
The conundrum rests with how much they want to invest in the SF25, with the 2026 F1 regulations around the corner requiring significant time and effort.
For now, at least, it appears they are not prepared to give up. Autoracer.it reports that Ferrari are ‘equipped’ with a revision of their floor for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
With struggles at the rear of their car apparent, this could be crucial in cleaning up airflow to the back of the car, widening their setup window and bringing them closer to the fight at the top.
Ferrari have the same car problem Hamilton had at Mercedes and bringing a new floor is just step one in their mission to get back to the levels they showed they could perform at last year.
Why Lewis Hamilton’s hopes of an eighth world championship are already gone in 2025
At this stage, it’s pretty clear that both Lando Norris and Max Verstappen are going to be too strong for Ferrari to compete with in 2025.
Already they hold a significant gap over both drivers and they appear to be far more comfortable in their cars.
Hamilton has changed his mind about Ferrari and is a lot more reserved regarding their hopes for the rest of the season.
He knows that without a significant improvement soon, his rivals will end up too far down the road and there will be little that he can do to come back from a big deficit.
Just look at Norris last year, who despite having the fastest car after the summer break, just couldn’t reduce the gap to the top enough.
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