Ferrari know their hopes of competing for either title in the 2025 Formula 1 season have all but disappeared.
At the halfway point of the campaign, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are 115 and 131 points adrift of championship leader Oscar Piastri, and neither has managed a Grand Prix win yet.
READ MORE: Charles Leclerc is ignoring a key piece of advice from Fred Vasseur, and it may be hurting Ferrari
Hamilton’s only victory came in the Sprint Race in China, which feels like a distant memory now. At Silverstone, he couldn’t even catch Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber – something few would have believed possible just a year ago.
The team made sweeping changes to their car over the winter, moving from a push rod suspension to a pull rod system. Team principal Fred Vasseur had said that nearly every part of the car was being overhauled during the break.
It’s left Ferrari with a car that has a worryingly small operating window, and both drivers struggling to follow their rivals in dirty air.
The Scuderia plan to introduce an updated rear suspension at Spa-Francorchamps. Another update is also on its way that could address an issue both Leclerc and Hamilton have been facing – one they haven’t been permitted to discuss publicly so far.
Ferrari Plan to address power steering issue before F1 summer break
During the British Grand Prix, it emerged that Ferrari had been quietly managing a power steering problem.
Leclerc hinted at the issue during one of his interviews, though he stopped short of sharing specifics.
He explained: “The issues we have are very specific. It’s not a balance issue, it’s not a grip issue.
“I don’t want to go into the detail, but it’s just something very weird that we’ve got to fight into the car.”
A report from Gazzetta dello Sport has shed more light on what Ferrari are working on back at Maranello.
The fix for the power steering problem is expected to be much less costly than the rear suspension upgrade according to an Italian outlet.
The rear suspension is being trialled during a filming day at Mugello on Thursday, but the power steering update isn’t expected until after the Hungarian Grand Prix.
If all goes well with these changes, Ferrari could finally put themselves in contention for a win before new regulations come into play in 2026.
If successful, it would help both drivers navigate high-speed sections with greater confidence. That could prove valuable when they return home for Monza in September.
Lewis Hamilton steps up Ferrari testing to address team struggles
Hamilton has never been a massive fan of private testing, and also spends a lot less time driving on simulators than the likes of Max Verstappen and many of the other drivers on the grid.
But with his initial contract running until the end of 2026, he knows these next couple of seasons could be his final shot at an eighth title before deciding whether to stay in F1.
Ferrari saw Hamilton go to extreme lengths to help embed himself within the team after his switch from Mercedes.
Jolyon Palmer has questioned Hamilton’s race pace, but it’s clear that he’s not had a car capable of winning races yet.
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