New Ferrari Floor Not Ready Until Bahrain

Ferrari’s new floor for its 2025 car will not debut until next weekend in Bahrain, according to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

The authoritative La Gazzetta dello Sport is reporting the same information, contradicting earlier claims that the new floor could be ready for this weekend’s Japanese GP.

Technical journalist Paolo Filisetti, however, insists that Ferrari’s new technical director Loic Serra has worked as fast as he can on the new Bahrain-spec solution.

In Australia and China, the Maranello-based team realised that its 2025 car was “critically sensitive to changes in ride height,” often resulting in “substantial downforce loss”.

“Loic Serra returned to Maranello immediately after Melbourne with the aim of analysing possible short-term solutions,” said Filisetti.

Team boss Frederic Vasseur admits his own concern that the real potential of the SF-25 has only been seen so far “on Friday and in the sprint in China”.

La Gazzetta dello Sport’s Filisetti, however, insists that the “basic concept” of the 2025 project is sound.

As for the new floor for Bahrain, he says “around 20 adjustments were tested in simulations to determine the optimal base for the single-seater that will take to the track in Japan”.

The Bahrain floor will “not be a large package, but a preview of what is planned for the race weekend in Miami at the beginning of May”.

Charles Leclerc said at Suzuka on Thursday: “When you start in the middle of the pack with degradation, you cannot show your pace. So we need to improve in qualifying.

“We have to work on that. Small steps after small steps – we can still have an amazing season.”