Ferrari ignored drivers ‘wishes’ to install update that has created a ‘significant’ problem this season

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Ferrari appear to have created a host of problems for themselves this season with the creation and subsequent development of the SF-25.

Charles Leclerc has been racing for Ferrari for long enough to know how they build and improve a car throughout the course of a Formula 1 season.

This year’s car was supposed to be the machine that finally delivered a constructors’ championship, considering how close they came to beating McLaren last year.

 Instead, Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have been dealing with the SF-25, a car designed to run lower than its allowed to and that doesn’t appear to be the class of the field at any specific type of circuit.

Both Mercedes and Red Bull have grasped opportunities to beat McLaren when they’ve arisen, but the Singapore Grand Prix was another miserable weekend for the Scuderia.

Leclerc lamented the ‘very difficult situation’ Ferrari put Hamilton in as his brakes failed during the final laps of the race.

Hamilton released a defiant statement after the Singapore Grand Prix, but the issues Ferrari are dealing with now may have arisen off the back of a development choice made months ago.

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Ferrari’s 2025 F1 car no longer capable of responding to set-up changes during race weekends

A report from the Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport has shared more details about Ferrari’s current struggles.

It’s believed the technical director, Loic Serra, chose to tackle Ferrari’s rear suspension issues over making any aerodynamic tweaks due to the team’s ride height problems.

After three months of work and ‘stalling’ their aero developments, the rear suspension was delivered at the Belgian Grand Prix.

However, it’s believed this created a ‘significant side effect’ which was that Ferrari’s car is now less sensitive to set-up changes across a race weekend.

It means that unless Ferrari’s simulator work is spot on alongside their data analysis, Leclerc and Hamilton are unlikely to enjoy the same progression across a race weekend as the likes of Verstappen, with Red Bull perfecting how they build up from practice to the race.

Some Ferrari engineers believe that even a small improvement over a race weekend could improve their pace by a tenth of a second, which can be worth several places on the grid.

It means Ferrari’s new updates might have done more harm than good, especially when you consider the opportunity cost of not exploring more aerodynamic updates.

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Ferrari’s car evolution not ‘in line’ with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc’s ‘wishes’

It’s believed that the resources used to deliver Ferrari’s new rear suspension potentially cost the team two aerodynamics packages, with some insiders believing the aero developments would have been ‘more effective’ for improving the SF-25’s performance.

Gazzetta goes on to say that Leclerc and Hamilton’s ‘wishes’ were for aerodynamic updates, which might explain why Hamilton delivered a memo to Ferrari on how the team can improve their internal communication.

Considering how important Ferrari’s rivals have found in-weekend set-up changes, some insiders believe the rear suspension update was the ‘exact opposite’ of what Fred Vasseur’s drivers needed.

While this season has already been written off by Leclerc and many within the team, Serra’s decisions this year have consequences for 2026 and beyond.

Vasseur has to put his trust in the team to make the right calls over the winter break and throughout next year as they tackle a new set of regulations.

If they get their focus wrong once again, then Ferrari will be on the back foot going into another era of Formula 1.