Ferrari driver ‘strongly’ warned Fred Vasseur he was making a £2.2m mistake with their 2025 car

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Ferrari won’t look back on the 2025 Formula 1 campaign fondly and will instead be forced to reflect on several key decisions they’ve made over the past 18 months.

The signing of Lewis Hamilton should have been the catalyst needed to deliver Ferrari’s first championship since 2008.

Instead, Ferrari’s drivers will almost certainly have to settle for fifth and sixth in the championship and will need plenty of good fortune if they’re going to end their wait for a Grand Prix victory.

Charles Leclerc has secured all seven of Ferrari’s podiums in 2025, but it was clear from the Chinese Grand Prix that there were fundamental issues with the SF-25.

Team principal Fred Vasseur has been responsible for some big calls at Ferrari this season.

However, there’s a chance that one call he made to try and resolve the SF-25’s problems might have gone against the information he was receiving from his drivers.

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

Ferrari driver warned Fred Vasseur not to continue with £2.2m suspension update

Before the 2025 season started, Ferrari described the SF-25 as a ‘completely new car’ after switching from a push-rod front suspension to a pull-rod layout.

However, a report from Formula Uno Analisi Tecnina has shared more information about the update Ferrari delivered to try and fix their ride height issues.

Hamilton was disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix for excessive plank wear, with Ferrari forced to lift their cars to avoid further complications as the season progressed.

Both drivers have been told to lift and coast throughout the campaign, a knock-on effect of the SF-25’s issues.

The report has now suggested that the suspension update Ferrari delivered halfway through the season cost £2.2 million.

It’s believed Ferrari’s rear suspension update went against Hamilton and Leclerc’s wishes, but on top of this, an unnamed Ferrari test driver warned Fred Vasseur not to install it after ‘intensive testing’.

More tests were completed by Ferrari to verify the driver’s assertion, creating further delays with no clarification on what the right course of action to take was.

The rear suspension eventually widened the operating range of Ferrari’s car, but did nothing to improve the performance.

READ MORE: Who is Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur? Everything you need to know

Ferrari are attempting to avoid similar mistakes with their 2026 Formula 1 cars

It’s believed that while the suspension switch hasn’t worked in 2025, Ferrari are now copying McLaren’s lead with next year’s car.

Andrea Stella’s team have proven to be the chiefs of innovation during the most recent F1 regulation set.

McLaren have gone from the back of the grid to back-to-back constructors’ championship winners in three years.

Ferrari are starting from a much better platform than McLaren, but making minor improvements can be far more difficult than revolutionising a car’s complete design.

Much is also going to depend on Ferrari’s 2026 power unit, with Mercedes, Honda, Audi, and Red Bull all hoping to go into Formula 1’s new era with an advantage over the rest of the competition.