Huge Ferrari SF-25 gains discovered as secret simulator data emerges – report
Image credit: Scuderia Ferrari
The F1 2025 title hopes of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have received a major boost amid claims that Ferrari have gained a massive 0.4 seconds per lap with the new SF-25 car.
After releasing the first images of the SF-25 in the immediate aftermath of F1’s season-launch event in London on Tuesday evening, Ferrari are set to stage a shakedown run at the team’s Fiorano test track today (Wednesday).
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As previously reported by PlanetF1.com, Leclerc is expected to take to the track at approximately 0930 local time before Hamilton gets his first taste of the new Ferrari in the afternoon session.
Both drivers will be limited to a maximum of 100 kilometres of running at Fiorano ahead of F1’s single pre-season test in Bahrain next week.
Although F1 2025 represents the final season of the sport’s current regulations, Ferrari are thought to have introduced a number of new design innovations with the SF-25 as they aggressively target a first World Championship of any kind since 2008.
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Fred Vasseur, the Ferrari team principal, recently confirmed that the SF-25 is a “completely new” car compared to its predecessor, which fell just 14 points short of beating McLaren to the Constructors’ Championship in 2024.
And a report by the respected Italian publication Corriere della Sera has claimed that Ferrari’s boldness is set to be rewarded with a huge performance increase of four tenths of a second compared to the end of 2024, with data from the team’s simulator indicating a massive improvement with the SF-25.
To put Ferrari’s potential improvement into a real-world context, Hamilton’s predecessor Carlos Sainz qualified third, 0.229 seconds behind McLaren driver and polesitter Lando Norris, at the final race of 2024 in Abu Dhabi.
A gain of four tenths by Ferrari would have put Sainz on pole by 0.171 seconds at Yas Marina.
McLaren are also thought to have made a clear improvement with the new MCL39 car, however, with chief executive Zak Brown claiming at last week’s launch that the team have found “further steps” with the F1 2025 car.
In a statement to mark the presentation of the SF-25, Vasseur said: “The launch of this new car is a very exciting and proud moment for everyone in the team.
“Months of hard work have gone into this SF-25 thanks to the dedicated efforts of everyone in the team at Maranello and we are excited to see the fruit of our labours take shape and prepare to take to the track.
“Last season, we fought for the Constructors’ title to the very last corner and now we are determined to build on that, starting from that solid base with the aim of winning both titles.
“We have a new driver line-up with Lewis joining Charles and we feel ready as a team to take the extra step required to be the best.
“We are aware of the challenges that await us, but we are ready to give it our all, to be competitive at the highest level, knowing we can also rely on the support and enthusiasm of our fans, who always inspire us.
“Now it’s time to concentrate on the job in hand and let the track do the talking. I can’t wait for this season to start.”
Leclerc said: “I’m really excited about the launch of the SF-25.
“Every year we push hard to improve and the whole team has been working flat out for months now. Last season saw a really tight fight and we came very close to taking the title.
“This year, our goal is clear: we want to win the Constructors’ World Championship and my personal target is to win the Drivers’ title.
“Since Lewis joined the team we have already been working very closely together and I believe that his experience and approach will prove to be a source of inspiration for me.
“I am physically and mentally more than ready to face this new season and I can’t wait to get on track to do everything I can to put Scuderia Ferrari HP back on top.”
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Hamilton added: “My first few weeks have been absolutely incredible and I’ve seen first-hand the passion and dedication of the entire team, so the unveiling today of my first-ever Scuderia Ferrari HP car is really exciting.
“So much hard work has gone into preparing for the season ahead and we couldn’t be more hungry or determined to succeed.
“I came into the year with so much anticipation for this new chapter, and I’m even more energised now by the spirit and belief of everyone I’ve met over the past month.
“I couldn’t be prouder to be on this journey with them. I can’t wait to get out on track with Charles, push each other forward and do everything we can to take the team to the top.”
The most significant change on the SF-25 sees a return to a pullrod front suspension layout for the first time since 2015.
The tweak means Ferrari are following in the footsteps of McLaren and Red Bull, who have both enjoyed success with a pullrod front suspension over recent years.
The layout is believed to bring a major aerodynamic benefit by improving airflow towards the car’s complex underbody, which generates a high proportion of the overall downforce in the current ground-effect era.
Enrico Cardile, the former Ferrari technical director who officially joined Aston Martin last month, is known to have been dismissive of the importance of suspension to the current-generation cars.
Cardile’s philosophy is thought to be opposed to Aston Martin’s incoming managing technical partner Adrian Newey, with the F1 design legend believed to have personally designed Red Bull’s suspension for the team’s first ground-effect car in 2022.
Cardile’s departure last summer is believed to have opened the door for Ferrari to pursue a new suspension concept, with former Mercedes engineer Loic Serra leading development of the SF-25 since he arrived at Maranello last October.
Serra, who is close to Hamilton having worked with the seven-time World Champion throughout his years of success at Mercedes, is believed to specialise in the area of vehicle dynamics and suspension components such as torsion bars and shock absorbers.
It is hoped that Serra’s influence will build on Ferrari’s key 2024 strength of tyre management while also addressing the 2024 car’s main weakness of struggling to generate tyre temperature quickly in qualifying conditions.
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