Ferrari reassured by its single-seater before Australia: "The SF-25 meets our expectations"

Among the leading teams, Ferrari is certainly the one that has taken the most risks on its car 2025. Unlike McLaren, Red Bull et Mercedes, who were content to develop their mount from last season before turning to the new technical regulations planned for 2026, the Team has decided to completely revise its copy, or almost. During the presentation of the SF-25, the Italian clan assured that its single-seater was "99%" new compared to its predecessor. A real risk, especially since last season's SF-24 came close to winning the Constructors' Championship, only 14 points behind McLaren.

However, on the Maranello side, this choice is assumed: when everyone already has their eyes fixed on 2026, Ferrari takes the risk of betting on 2025 as a priority and giving itself the best chance of a world title, both in the Drivers' and Constructors' categories. However, Frédéric Vasseur warns: the SF-25 must perform immediately and the developments that will be introduced at the start of the season will have to be quickly effective, because the Scuderia cannot afford to develop the car over the entire season, the preparation for the new 2026 regulations requires.

"A good correlation" between the track and the simulator

The winter tests held in Bahrain at the end of February were crucial for the Italian team. After three days of testing, and before heading to Melbourne for the start of the 2025 season, the SF-25 appears to have given satisfaction in Maranello. “Despite the unusually difficult weather conditions we encountered in Bahrain, the tests were very useful for us and we completed the entire planned programme, with the car running reliably without any major issues., explains Loïc Serra, technical director of the ScuderiaThe results obtained with the SF-25 are in line with our expectations and the car responds well to the setup changes. We were pleased to see that there was a good correlation between the data obtained on the Sakhir circuit and what we had seen in the simulator.

“It’s really an essential basis to focus now on optimizing the car’s performance, race after race, adds the French engineer, who points out that conditions will be very different in Melbourne this weekendBahrain was particularly cold and this weekend we can expect much warmer weather at the end of the Australian summer, which will affect the car's handling, especially regarding the tires. By the end of the weekend we will have a clearer, but not yet definitive, picture of the hierarchy between the teams. We will focus on ourselves and work towards a good start to the season."

Ferrari prepares for rain

Albert Park is traditionally a circuit that has been quite successful for Ferrari in the past. In fact, the Scuderia won there in 2024 with the victory of Carlos SainzThis weekend, however, things could be different against a faster-than-ever McLaren, and above all, with the weather forecast likely to be very unpredictable on Sunday. The Italian team is already preparing for highly variable conditions in Melbourne.

“The Albert Park circuit is a temporary street circuit that combines high-speed sections with tight corners. One of the unique features of the Melbourne circuit is the unpredictability of the weather conditions. It can take less than an hour to go from hot to cold conditions, which is a real challenge for the engineers who have to predict and optimize the car’s setup throughout the weekend,” concludes Loïc Serra. “Furthermore, since the circuit isn’t used year-round, the surface becomes very rubbery over the three days, meaning grip levels change all the time.”

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