Charles Leclerc has revealed that Ferrari’s 2025 Formula 1 car has been designed with the aim of making “small steps” in all areas rather than prioritising “one particular thing”.
The Italian marque experienced a positive campaign in 2024 – the second under Fred Vasseur’s guidance – as the side took five victories to end up second in the standings.
Ferrari made a sizeable step with a revised SF-24 challenger that was more competitive in race conditions and dialled out the wind sensitivity that hamstrung its predecessor.
However, that wasn’t enough to banish Ferrari’s protracted championship drought as it missed out on the Constructors’ title to McLaren by 14 points come the season’s end.
With teams now chasing marginal gains under the current rules, Ferrari has committed to aggressive changes in a bid to widen its scope for development with the SF-25.
Leclerc, though, has explained that Ferrari’s attention on this occasion has been on improving performance across the board and not addressing an exceptional weakness.
“At the end of 2023, I think it was very clear which characteristics of the car we wanted to tackle because there were some issues that were very clear and that we had to change,” Leclerc told media including Motorsport Week.
“In 2024 it was a very different situation because I think the car was a very healthy one in general. Just when we had the upgrade problem [mid-season], there were some things that we wanted to change.
“But after that, we’ve had a very good car, we just needed more performance.
“So that’s where we focused really for this new car, it’s to do small steps in every single thing and not focus on one particular thing.”
Leclerc not drawing conclusions on Ferrari shakedown
Both Leclerc and new team-mate Lewis Hamilton were given the chance to get their debut runs in the SF-25 earlier this week in a shakedown at Ferrari’s Fiorano test track.
But while there were no unexpected issues, Leclerc pinpointed that the unrepresentative conditions and cold conditions ensured that no extensive assessments could be made.
“It’s very difficult to feel that on a first day on a track like Fiorano with such cold conditions, I think we’ll most likely see a lot more in Bahrain [for testing],” Leclerc said.
“However, the scope of a day like this is to first of all see the first numbers, to see if there’s nothing standing out, the first feeling, to see if there’s nothing standing out on the negative side obviously, and nothing is standing out for now.
“So that means it’s a positive first day. But more than that, it’s very difficult to say.”
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