Ferrari eyes ‘balance fix’ for SF-25, but cautious on gains

Ferrari has acknowledged that refining the balance of its SF-25 is crucial to extracting more performance from its current F1 package, though deputy team principal Jérôme d’Ambrosio remained cautious about how much improvement this effort could yield.

The Italian team delivered a much-needed strong result in Austria earlier this month with a double top-four finish, helped by the introduction of a revised floor and diffuser.

But while those components correlated well with wind tunnel expectations, Ferrari is aware that the SF-25 still has untapped potential – much of it tied to how predictable and stable the car feels across different conditions.

Speaking to reporters during the British Grand Prix weekend, d’Ambrosio offered insight into Ferrari’s development process and the importance of aligning simulation tools with real-world results.

"It is obviously about correlation to the wind-tunnel and there are different layers you get," he said, quoted by RacingNews365.

"You have CFD [computational fluid dynamics], and then try to bring that to the tunnel and have different layers of validation and correlation and then obviously, the last one is putting it on the track.

"You get your numbers in the tunnel and then put it [the car] on track and hope to see what you expected, and that is what happened with us [in Austria], so it is a good thing."

While encouraged by the Austria upgrade’s performance, d’Ambrosio made clear that improving the car’s balance – rather than chasing raw downforce – is a key area of focus for Ferrari’s engineers.

"We are definitely trying to work on improving the car balance to help the drivers, and there is performance in that, but it is sometimes difficult to predict the amount of performance you will bring to the track."

Balance: A Blend of Science and Feel

D’Ambrosio also emphasized that balance improvements are not purely technical, as driver comfort and style are significant factors. However, the team ultimately aims to find a neutral setup that offers universal benefits.

"There are aspects of car balance which are also driver preference, driver comfort, driving style and so on, which are taken into consideration to get the car into a better place, but overall, you are not considering one driver or the other,” the Belgian added.

"You are just trying to put the car into a better balance, and there is an objective point which will bring performance to the team.

"In the end, we have objective metrics and objective targets of how to bring performance to the car."

Mugello Filming Day to Test New Rear Suspension

Meanwhile, Ferrari’s development push continues behind the scenes, with Leclerc and Hamilton set to take part in a filming day at Mugello on Wednesday. According to reports, the team is expected to trial a rear suspension change.

The component is aimed at helping Ferrari resolve its long-running ride height challenges, which have limited aerodynamic performance in several races this year.

• Read also: Hamilton working to instill 2026 Ferrari with ‘some of my DNA’

While test bench data has reportedly shown promising signs, this is expected to be the final upgrade step of the season before full focus turns to Ferrari’s 2026 project.

For now, however, the team is zeroed in on understanding and fine-tuning the SF-25’s handling characteristics – a task d’Ambrosio admits won’t deliver quick or easily predictable results, but one that could prove important in improving the Italian outfit’s fortunes.

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