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Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur has finally addressed the elephant in the room as both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton continue to struggle to match the frontrunners. With the elephant in the room being the fact that the Italian team decided to radically change the car going into the 2025 F1 season compared to what it had in the 2024 season.
Ferrari almost won the title last season from McLaren, and it all came down to the last race of the year. In the second half of the season, one could even argue that the Italian team had the best car on the grid, especially since the team scored the most points.
Coming into the 2025 F1 season, Lewis Hamilton has joined Ferrari as the team embarks on a new journey. At the same time, the team took a call last season to radically change the car going into the new season. Fred Vasseur was often seen last season claiming that the new challenger would be 99% different from what they had in 2024.
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Well, 4 races into the season, the new challenger has been underwhelming at best. The only highlight has been Lewis Hamilton's pole and win in the sprint in China. Compared to 2024, this season has been a complete disaster until now. Talking to the media, including Sportskeeda, Fred Vasseur was questioned if the concept change has been the cause for the team's troubles. The team boss declined the suggestion as he said,
“I think it has nothing to do with the concept. Pure downforce, no. I think that first the picture is that from session to session it’s a bit different. You can have some stints when we are fighting with the McLaren, that Sprint race in China or the second stint in Bahrain today."
He added,
“But overall if you have a look on the average of the season, I think we are missing two, three, four tenths. I don’t know, but we are missing something. It means that we have to continue to work and downforce is a component of this. But when you have a look on the situation, they are also much better when the conditions are a bit more extreme, when it’s way more tyre management than anything else.”
Lewis Hamilton's teammate elaborates on the issues with the car
Lewis Hamilton's teammate, Charles Leclerc, elaborated on the issues faced by the team as he said that the car just lacked overall downforce. The driver felt that the team was making the most of what he had under him, but the problem was the limitations of the car, and that had to be overcome. He said,
“I think we just need more overall downforce, more grip. I think the balance we are extracting the maximum out of the car at the moment, but there’s just nothing more. I need more grip to go faster around the corner.”
Lewis Hamilton himself has struggled with the car in the last couple of races as the driver tries to get more and more attuned to the new package and will be looking at the next few races to take the next step on that front.
