F1: Ferrari abandons its title hopes to set its sights on 2026

After nine Formula 1the Scuderia Ferrari regained 2nd place in the manufacturers' championship. A performance which, on paper, might suggest a revived 2025 season. Behind the scenes, however, the reality is very different: the Scuderia is preparing to turn an important page, soon stopping development of its SF-25 single-seater to concentrate all its efforts on the future car of 2026. An understandable strategic choice, but one that also sounds like an admission: no, Ferrari won't be playing for the title this year.

McLaren too far behind, despite a rise in the rankings

The European triple header (Imola, Monaco, Barcelona) enabled Ferrari to pick up precious points. Thanks in particular to Charles Leclerc, twice on the podium, and a Hamilton who, despite his critics, regularly brings home points, the Scuderia climbed to 2nd place in the championship with 165 points. But McLaren, thanks to a double podium finish in Barcelona (Piastri-Norris), took off with 362 points. The gap is abysmal.

And Lewis Hamilton, always outspoken in his statements, no longer hides his annoyance. In Barcelona, following the FIA's introduction of the new front wing flexibility test, the Briton denounced a " huge waste of money He went on to describe the car as "bad". What's more, he described the car as "bad", adding on the radio at the end of the race: "There's something wrong with this car, it's never been this bad."

A limited SF-25, despite our efforts

It has to be said that the SF-25 has been heavily impacted by technical directive TD018, which came into force at the Barcelona Grand Prix. This directive imposes increased fin rigidity, thus limiting the aerodynamic room for maneuver available to engineers. According to information from autoracer, this adjustment would have required nearly 8 months of development and 50 % of the budget for the front spoiler, but without causing any upheaval in the hierarchy.

As a result, the car remains competitive in race trim, but still fragile in qualifying. As Frédéric Vasseur admits: "This car suffers much more in qualifying than in the race." Pending the arrival of new rear suspensions, the grip compromise remains difficult to manage, especially on demanding circuits like Imola.

Movement towards 2026 already underway

In Maranello, a decision has been taken: the team will gradually halt major developments on the SF-25 to free up the wind tunnel and resources towards the 2026 car, built on future technical regulations. According to the latest information from Italy, operations on the current car are due to be completed by the end of June, in line with an in-house plan. Project "677", the code name for the 2026 chassis, will become the top priority. The only major change concerns rear suspension won't arrive until early JulyThis will already be half of the 2025 Championship.

Make no mistake about it: if Ferrari is back ahead of Mercedes and Red Bull, it's due more to the errors of its rivals than to a surge in performance. The objective is now clear: We're banking on next year to get back to the top, even if it means sacrificing the present.

The end of illusions for 2025?

As F1 enters the final year of a regulatory cycle launched in 2022, the gradual abandonment of SF-25 development marks a kind of capitulation in the battle for the title. McLaren seems out of reach, Red Bull is weakened but still capable of making a splash, and Mercedes remains unpredictable. Against this backdrop, Ferrari is playing the spoilsport... but not the champion.

It remains to be seen whether this anticipated transition to 2026 will finally allow the Scuderia to return to glory. Fans, for their part, have been waiting for a world title since 2007 in the drivers' category and 2008 in the constructors' category. Lewis Hamilton's arrival in 2025 was supposed to be a turning point. Perhaps it will be... but with a car he doesn't yet have in his hands.