How Monza introduced out Ferrari’s basic limitations with its 2025 F1 automobile

For the numerous followers who flocked to the grandstands, able to assist the Prancing Horse, the true shock of the Monza weekend was sadly not Ferrari, however Purple Bull. For Ferrari, it was a bitter blow; the Italian Grand Prix represented one in every of its greatest alternatives to beat the dominant McLaren.

This was not the case. Monza, the place aerodynamic effectivity typically guidelines the day, underlined Ferrari’s limitations which have persevered by way of a lot of the season, even on a beneficial monitor. Hopes of a primary win of the season had been successfully extinguished on Saturday, in a qualifying session wherein the SF-25 lacked the line-leading tempo.

To hope for something greater than fourth and sixth place, it could want a shock coincidence on Sunday. The drivers attacked within the first a part of the race to facilitate that however, with few  variables of which to take benefit, hopes quickly pale.

The grand prix turned out to be surprisingly linear and devoid of twists and turns, much more so than the groups themselves had anticipated. These components that had fuelled uncertainty final yr, and which may have helped Ferrari, vanished. It in the end uncovered the areas on which the SF-25 is missing in comparison with its rivals, significantly on aerodynamic load.

That is an space that has relegated Ferrari to the position of ‘additional’ in a grand prix that it could dearly have cherished to compete in as a protagonist. The indicators had already emerged in qualifying, however within the race, with out the assist of the additional grip offered by the brand new comfortable tyre, the shortcomings of the SF-25 turned much more evident. 

Definitely, within the early phases of the race the 2 drivers pushed on, contributing to the tyres overheating at a fragile time of their life cycle. This required a number of laps to re-establish the steadiness, however this was relative, because it didn’t have an effect on consumption an excessive amount of, and degradation proved minimal.

In his post-race evaluation, Fred Vasseur spoke of a “final tenth” lacking within the direct comparability with the McLaren. On a dry lap, this evaluation is legitimate, though the brand new comfortable tyre did in actual fact masks some shortcomings to supply grip to an especially unloaded automobile. Within the race, nevertheless, the state of affairs turned out to be far more complicated and much faraway from the image. It culminated in a scenario the place, on the Temple of Pace, Ferrari simply did not have sufficient of it.

Analysing the race from lap 20 onwards, after essentially the most essential part associated to tyre thermal administration, it turns into clear the place the SF-25 misplaced floor to McLaren and Purple Bull: within the corners. Particularly, within the quickest and most technical sections equivalent to Ascari and Parabolica, the place stability is essential, the Ferrari lagged at occasions by as a lot as 10-11km/h (6-7mph).

The big velocity benefit on the straights, as much as 6-7 km/h on the MCL39 and 3-4 km/h on the RB21, was not sufficient to compensate for the time misplaced within the corners, translating into a mean hole of round two and a half tenths per lap in comparison with Piastri and over 4 from Verstappen, not less than till the primary pitstop.

It wasn’t all unhealthy; it was this slower cornering velocity that allowed the SF-25 to place much less stress on the tyres, favouring a gradual method in tempo within the closing stint, till reaching efficiency comparable with its rivals.

Carrying much less velocity into corners, the SF-25 generated much less pressure on the tyres, an element that labored in its favour within the center phases of the race. It was at that time, as Verstappen admitted, that the Dutchman started to really feel the results of some degradation after pushing for over 30 laps. Ferrari skilled an analogous scenario in Jeddah: time misplaced in visitors had mitigated the tyre consumption, once more on a monitor characterised by low degradation and very clean asphalt.

The selection of Ferrari to give attention to an especially unloaded set-up is comprehensible: it represents a technical ‘all-in’, to which even Purple Bull ended up adapting to make the distinction by following the identical route as Ferrari. Betting every little thing on a sure space was the one actual technique to beat an all-rounder like McLaren’s MCL39. However at that time, the essential problem remained the aerodynamic load generated by the underbody and physique.

Trying again over the season, the RB21 has proven constant superiority in very high-speed corners, due to a stability and cargo stage that the SF-25 has by no means been in a position to match and what the drivers have reported so typically on. This can be a limitation that had already emerged in different rounds, and at Monza turned much more evident and detrimental – and couldn’t be compensated for by loading the wings, given the danger of shedding effectivity and its best power. 

In fact, it is true that every single-seater has its personal aerodynamic mapping, with traits that decide its effectivity based mostly on load and cornering. McLaren tends to be extra environment friendly and carry out higher with the wings loaded, whereas for Purple Bull it is the alternative.

There have been reputable expectations that the decrease load on the rear may generate extra sliding and, consequently, extra tyre degradation. In actuality, the low consumption recorded significantly mitigated the issue, neutralising one of many MCL39’s strengths, rear-end dealing with. This was an surprising aspect impact, which levelled out efficiency and made one in every of its greatest weapons much less decisive.

This state of affairs allowed the rivals to push with out worry, particularly within the preliminary part, exhibiting all the prevalence of their aerodynamic load. Ferrari wished Monza to be the stage for redemption, however as a substitute it became a trustworthy mirror of the boundaries of the SF-25’s design.