The competitive landscape in F1 is becoming more intense every weekend. A resurgent Mercedes have changed the dynamic at the front, becoming the fourth team to take victory in 2024. As rivals progress at an impressive rate, Ferrari are paying the price for stagnating in the development race. To make matters worse, Ferrari will take some time to recover from their recent ineffective upgrades.
From bad to worse for Ferrari
Before the Spanish GP, Ferrari were experiencing a small dip in form. After Charles Leclerc claimed victory on home soil in Monaco, the Maranello-based team suffered a nightmare weekend in Canada.
Their troubles were due to a combination of poor set-up and unfavourable track conditions, as opposed to a fundamental lack of performance.
In any case, the team’s poor result in Montreal triggered a swift response from the factory. Ferrari brought the upgrades initially intended for Silverstone to the Spanish GP – fitting them to the SF-24 a few rounds ahead of schedule.
Ferrari hoped to unlock a few tenths of performance and recover lost momentum. Instead, they encountered a set of upgrades that generated aerodynamic instability and bouncing.
The additional downforce generated by the SF-24’s newest components inadvertently made the car undrivable.
This problem persisted in Austria and Britain – to such an extent that Ferrari reverted to their old specification in Silverstone.
No quick fixes for failing Ferrari upgrades
Thanks to the restrictions imposed by the budget cap, mistakes in development—like Ferrari’s recent miscalculation—are especially costly. A significant portion of the team’s budget went towards upgrades that were ultimately counterproductive.
Researching and then producing updates to reverse this mistake will take time. Of course, eliminating bouncing does not necessarily mean Ferrari will find more performance. It only marks the first step in the team’s recovery process.
Some good news for Ferrari is that the summer break is only a few weeks away. This will minimise the number of races where Fred Vasseur’s team are forced to fight with one hand tied behind the back.
The team insists they understand the cause of their issues and are working on solutions.
Crucially, though, the Italian team must also work to recover the ground lost to Mercedes, McLaren, and Red Bull.
Considering the progress all these teams are making, the next few months could be a spell of damage limitation for Ferrari.
Perhaps more pressingly, the team’s direction for 2025 is in doubt. This is a crucial stage in the season when technical departments finalise their upgrades for the upcoming months and begin preparations for next year.
The next few months are especially crucial because once the 2025 campaign begins, most teams will switch their focus to the 2026 regulations.
As a result, Ferrari must work to minimise the damage inflicted by their faulty Spain upgrade package.
