The countdown to the revealing of Ferrari’s new SF-25 on Wednesday, February 19, has formally began. Ferrari workforce boss Frederic Vasseur had already confirmed the insights gathered by the Italian web site AutoRacer.it through the growth of challenge 677: “Within the fourth yr of this technical cycle, we have now a wealth of knowledge at our disposal, and the 2025 automobile will likely be fully new.” The French Staff Principal additionally disclosed {that a} mere 1% of the 2024 automobile could be carried over to the SF-25. It is a blunt means of indicating that the 2025 automobile’s growth is akin to ranging from scratch, drawing fully on the in depth information collected over the previous three seasons. This message was additionally clearly conveyed by Frederic Vasseur to the technical workforce. The workers, headed by Loic Serra, Ferrari’s new Technical Director, Diego Tondi, liable for the aerodynamic division, and Fabio Montecchi, the Chief Undertaking Engineer, has launched daring selections geared toward making the 2025 season not only a transitional yr however a major step ahead earlier than the key modifications anticipated in 2026.
The SF-25 introduces substantial modifications on the outside, whereas the inside stays much less revolutionary: centered changes to cooling methods are deliberate, however the extremely environment friendly triangular airbox is more likely to keep. The SF-24 was already a car that marked a significant departure from Ferrari’s earlier designs, with aerodynamics considerably revamped following the problems confronted by the previous 2023 automobile. In line with educated technical sources, “these laws nonetheless have untapped potential,” that means there’s nonetheless appreciable room for enchancment. Whereas this course of is undoubtedly difficult, there’s a consensus that when the proper path is recognized, important features can comply with. Ferrari’s technique revolves round aggressively adopting the entrance pull-rod, not simply to beat the intense limitations that the SF-24 endured all through the season, notably concerning tire administration. The redistribution of mass, nonetheless, is something however easy and would require time and cautious studying to completely optimize the automobile’s setup.
In distinction to this, the rear part of the SF-25 has not undergone a drastic reconfiguration of its inside mechanics, however fairly a extra delicate and exact evolution according to the workforce’s targets. Equally, the automobile’s central construction has not skilled an entire overhaul. Whereas different groups, equivalent to Williams (and others), have opted to redistribute the automobile’s mass, with the FW47 notably eliminating the big central radiator situated behind the airscoop, Ferrari has chosen to not undertake such a heavy redistribution of cooling parts. As an alternative, the workforce has centered on additional optimizing the present cooling setup. This determination maintains the automobile’s unique character whereas permitting changes that accommodate different modifications, such because the modifications made to the chassis that have an effect on the cooling system format.
There isn’t a drastic transformation akin to Purple Bull’s 2024 overhaul, which included an in depth redistribution of radiators throughout the RB20, a transfer that, though it posed challenges for the Milton Keynes workforce, in the end helped resolve cooling points, as evidenced by the changes made through the Suzuka race. Ferrari, nonetheless, opted to not take this dangerous method. As an alternative, they selected to retain a well-known weight distribution within the central a part of the automobile, staying near the configurations of earlier Ferrari fashions.
As for the SF-25, the 1% of carryover parts from the 2024 Method 1 automobile, the SF24, as talked about by Frederic Vasseur, will embrace, amongst different issues, the hood consumption, which can keep its triangular form, mirroring the design of the roll hoop. This characteristic has been part of Ferrari’s design philosophy because the F1-75 in 2022 (and even earlier with the SF-90) and is a part of the workforce’s need to keep away from transferring in the direction of extra central cooling methods, also called centerline cooling. The distinctive “ears” hooked up to the edges of the airbox may even stay current on the complete fleet of Ferrari-powered vehicles by way of 2024. Even Ferrari’s buyer groups, Sauber and Haas, have opted to centralize their automobile’s mass by shifting not solely the oil radiator to the middle but in addition repositioning the electrical radiator alongside the automobile’s central axis. This enables for higher utilization of area, notably within the sidepod areas.