The SF-25 has underwhelmed so far this season as Ferrari trails the championship leaders, McLaren, by 238 points. They were expected to go toe-to-toe with the papaya team, but have so far yet to win a grand prix this season. This has left Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc calling for upgrades to increase the pace.
Early signs were promising for Ferrari, as the new floor in Austria proved effective for the Scuderia. They finished as runners-up to McLaren and were comfortably the second-best team that weekend. The pace continued at Silverstone as Ferrari looked the team to beat, but the same weaknesses of the car plagued their drivers. Hamilton has called the final upgrades to solve the SF-25’s main issues from the Belgium GP
Lewis Hamilton wants Ferrari to create a more stable car
Lewis Hamilton has outlined what he wants from Ferrari moving forward. The SF-25 has improved since the Austrian upgrades. However, it still struggled with excessive understeer at Silverstone. Meaning the car didn’t turn as well as McLaren at the slower corners.
Hamilton said he wants the Ferrari to have a “consistent balance. A car that turns at low speed. Just a more stable car.”
Charles Leclerc added that he hoped the upcoming upgrades would deliver “performance“. He continued: “We’ve got some upgrades coming which will cure some particular weaknesses of the car, which I think will help us in some phases of the corner. I think there are some weaknesses; we’ve identified them, and we’ll try and fix them as soon as possible.”
Charles Leclerc Demands Answers After Ferrari’s Silverstone Struggles Leave Him ‘Nowhere’
Ferrari is bringing their final major upgrade to Spa, and is hopeful it will help them find around a tenth of a second. They are hopeful the new rear suspension will unlock the potential of the SF-25 so they can challenge for race wins this season.
Lewis Hamilton is hopeful for next season’s car
Lewis Hamilton described driving the SF-25 in the wet as the “most difficult car I’ve driven“. While he is hoping that the upgrades in Belgium solve more issues, he also believes there are positives the team can take forward into next year’s car.
Speaking after finishing fourth at the British GP, he said: “[I have] lots of data to take from this. For me, I might just sit down with the people that are designing the car for next year because there are elements of this car that can go into the following year.”
Lewis Hamilton Admits Brutal Truth About the Most Difficult Car He’s Driven at Silverstone
After the upgrades in Belgium, Ferrari is shifting its focus towards next season’s car. It will be the first time Hamilton can have input to improve the car and develop from the SF-25. The seven-time world champion helped make Mercedes competitive again as the team followed his direction. If Ferrari does, they could be a major player in next season’s championship.
