18/07/2025 11:55
Ferrari will introduce its final major upgrade of the 2025 F1
season at next weekend's Belgian Grand Prix as it looks to keep up
its fight for second place in the constructors' championship. The
new part will come in the form of a rear suspension update that had
its first run on Thursday at the Mugello Circuit , with Lewis
Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at the wheel. Ferrari hopes the fresh
component will work in tandem with the floor it introduced a
handful of races ago. Speaking to RacingNews365 , F1 technical
analyst Matteo Bobbi explained how the new floor has unlocked more
performance from the SF-23. "The previous floor they had was too
sensitive on the ride height," Bobbi detailed. "The last version
they brought, it was able to bring more downforce points, but at
the same time, it was less sensitive on the ride height. "It helped
Ferrari a lot in Austria and Silverstone to open the window they
had in terms of aerodynamics." The new rear suspension is designed
to reinforce this philosophy and offers the team more flexibility
in finding the right setup. "The new suspension is not going to be
completely new, but they changed the range of the suspension,"
Bobbi added. "They opened the range of the working suspension, the
movement of the suspension." Article continues under the image.
More leeway for engineers The core of the upgrade is to increase
the operating margin, allowing the SF-25 to perform more
consistently on different circuits and in varying conditions. "I'm
just inventing numbers but to help people understand, as an
example, let's say the previous one was working from minus five to
plus five," Bobbi explained. "The new suspension is going to work
from minus 10 to plus 10. It has been made to increase the window
for finding a good setup. "It should work well with the new floor
brought two races ago." However, onlookers should not expect to
witness a major difference when spying the car with the naked eye.
"It's not going to be completely new from the outside," Bobbi said.
"From the outside, we will probably see a new cover. "Normally,
when a team brings a new suspension, they bring a new carbon fibre
cover to change the airflow. "The biggest change should be from the
inside part. I'm not sure we will see that." As it marks the last
major upgrade of the year for Ferrari, it could shape how its
second half of the year unfolds. Bobbi does not expect the Italian
squad to make a significant leap forward to the scale that it will
suddenly be able to challenge McLaren at the front of the field.
But in its battle for a respectable second place in the
constructors' championship, with Mercedes and Red Bull 12 and 50
points adrift respectively, it could be enough to keep the Scuderia
ahead. "Hopefully for them, the new suspension will give them
another step," he said. "They are not expecting a huge improvement.
From what I've heard, they expect a gain of one-tenth, if they are
very happy, one and a half tenths. "It's not going to be enough to
compete against McLaren, but I think it's going to be enough to
compete and keep second place in the championship "Sometimes you
bring a small improvement, and when you put the car on the track,
it's bigger than what you expect. "Sometimes, it's less than what
you expect, but let's see. Spa and Hungary are two very different
types of circuits, so it's going to be a nice place to test it."
