A very powerful work on the brand new Ferrari is the one that can’t be seen. The Maranello workforce has closely centered on the mechanical points of the SF-25, reorganizing inner packaging to liberate house for the aerodynamics division. Regardless of the various modifications, technical director Loic Serra isn’t nervous that the workforce would require an extended studying interval than its rivals to grasp how one can exploit the brand new automobile. Quite the opposite, the modifications purpose to speed up the automobile’s progress with deliberate updates.
The work beneath the floor
“The primary aim of the SF-25 challenge was to liberate house to push growth, each aerodynamically and total,” explains Loic Serra. “The SF-24 was fairly aggressive on the finish of the season, however updating and discovering efficiency was turning into more and more troublesome, so we needed to create house to speed up the event tempo.” Ferrari’s method mirrors what Andrea Stella described for McLaren, beginning with an optimization of the automobile’s structure to permit better room for aerodynamic interventions.
The work has affected the whole automobile, as Loic Serra explains: “On these automobiles, every thing is so optimized that once you transfer one element, you then should shift every thing else. You’ll be able to’t say that the principle problem was with the entrance suspension or elsewhere. In actuality, once you begin altering one thing, it units off a sequence response that results in altering every thing. I’d say the most important problem was within the total compromise.”
The brand new Ferrari contains a driving place moved again by a few centimeters, mixed with a barely longer wheelbase, as confirmed by Loic Serra: “There are small updates in that space, however they’re actually minimal and never the driving drive behind the challenge.” One of many standout modifications in the SF-25 is the swap to a pull-rod entrance suspension, however the important slimming of the sidepods can also be notable, indicating a extra compact radiator and inner elements regardless of the decreased house brought on by the cockpit repositioning. The French engineer continues: “On these automobiles, the satan is within the particulars. All of us discuss in regards to the entrance suspension as a result of it’s the seen tip of the iceberg. Nevertheless, a lot of the elements on the automobile are new, and it’s not essentially probably the most seen ones which have the most important impression.”
Evolution, not revolution
The inversion of the SF-25’s entrance suspension raises the query of whether or not the workforce would require a studying interval, comparable to adjusting setup decisions to manage the ground’s journey top. Nevertheless, Loic Serra reassures: “The automobile is a continuation of the earlier one. We now have modified many elements—most of them—however by way of efficiency, the final idea stays the identical. That’s why I don’t count on a steeper studying curve than final yr.”
The brand new Ferrari evolves previous design ideas, aiming for better stability in medium-to-high-speed and long-radius corners. Past that, nonetheless, the SF-25 will function equally to its predecessor, comparable to optimizing ground aerodynamics for race situations with a full gasoline load. The brand new technical director doesn’t foresee a very lengthy studying interval and as an alternative believes that the house freed up across the chassis and bodywork will yield better beneficial properties with updates: “The hope is that the event tempo will probably be quicker than on the finish of final season, however I don’t essentially count on the automobile to be managed in a different way.”
Waiting for 2026
The continued growth work in Maranello isn’t solely centered on updates for the SF-25, because the workforce should additionally push ahead with the 2026 challenge. “The 2025 season will probably be fairly difficult,” admits Loic Serra. “We should develop two automobiles, two very completely different animals, in the identical yr. The 2026 rules are fairly completely different as a result of they have an effect on the engine, chassis, and even the tires. It is going to be an enormous problem. We now have an SF-25 the place each millisecond will rely, whereas for the 2026 automobile, we’ve a clean sheet with a really steep growth curve. Balancing work between the 2 initiatives will probably be very troublesome.”
Purchase official Ferrari F1 merchandise!
Let different Scuderia Followers find out about us
