F1 SF25 Ferrari under increased FIA scrutiny

Ferrari F1 in Deep Crisis: SF25 Fails to Meet Expectations, Not Even Lewis Hamilton Can Turn the Tide

What emerges from a Corriere della Sera article represents the current situation in F1 for the Scuderia. With six races remaining in the 2026 season, Ferrari finds itself in an unprecedented technical and sporting crisis in recent years. The updates introduced throughout the season have failed. They did not deliver the expected improvements on a car, the SF25, which had started with high hopes but has proven to be a fragile and inconsistent project.

The arrival of Lewis Hamilton, the most successful driver on the grid with extensive experience at Mercedes, where he won six world titles, was expected to be a turning point. Yet the seven-time world champion has been unable to change the Scuderia’s fate.

The only real highlight came on F1 Sprint Race Saturday in China. There, Hamilton claimed a surprising victory, igniting the crowd and briefly restoring a sense of competitiveness. However, the following Sunday brought a harsh blow: both Ferraris were disqualified for technical irregularities.

Excessive race floor wear for the Ferrari SF25

The issue, abnormal floor wear due to an excessively low setup, revealed borderline technical management, dragging the team into a tunnel from which it has yet to emerge.

Fred Vasseur at the pit wall is unable to guide the necessary changes effectively, while Hamilton, determined not to end his career without a fitting finale, already drafted a document outlining departments and methods that needed improvement to give the team a real step forward. The goal was clear: avoid once again chasing McLaren, Red Bull, and Mercedes in the next season.

Mercedes, in recent races, has shown a radical performance leap, moving up to P2 in the Constructors’ Championship behind McLaren. Ferrari sits in P3, just a few points behind Red Bull, which relies almost exclusively on Max Verstappen.

Team dynamics are far from relaxed

The Scuderia has denied any heated confrontation between Vasseur and Matteo Togninalli, the track operations coordinator. But the work of the Sondrio-born engineer, one of the chain-of-command leaders, is once again under scrutiny. He had already been criticized after the double disqualification in China but had managed to regain the trust of Vice Team Principal Jerome D’Ambrosio and Technical Director Loic Serra.

Internal relationships, tense and far from relaxed, combined with setup issues caused by the need to run at suboptimal ride heights to avoid excessive wear on the wooden plank under the floor, have resulted in uncoordinated and disappointing performance. The FIA, aware of this vulnerability, is reportedly increasing checks on minimum plank thickness during races. A move that irritates Maranello’s leadership and creates additional tension.

Can we expect improvement in the final six races? Considering the 2024 season, when Ferrari showed strong competitiveness in the closing rounds despite narrowly losing the Constructors’ Championship to McLaren, there is a glimmer of hope. Yet the SF25 appears less structured and cohesive than that car, and a return to victory remains a distant goal.