Ferrari are reportedly set to end development of the SF-25 later this month as attention turns to Project 678, the team’s F1 2026 car.
It comes after Lewis Hamilton hinted that he would apply pressure on the team to switch focus to next year’s car.
Ferrari set to switch focus to Project 678 later this month?
After finishing just 14 points behind McLaren in last year’s Constructors’ Championship, Ferrari commenced the F1 2025 season with aspirations of concluding their prolonged pursuit of a World Championship, coinciding with Hamilton’s transition from Mercedes.
The Scuderia undertook the unconventional decision to implement several design modifications for the final year of the existing regulations, adopting the pullrod front suspension configuration utilized by teams such as McLaren and Red Bull.
Nevertheless, this risky move has proven to be a significant miscalculation, as Ferrari finds itself trailing McLaren by 197 points as they approach this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, the 10th event of the F1 2025 season.
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Ferrari have been limited to three podium finishes so far this season, all achieved by Hamilton’s team-mate Charles Leclerc in Saudi Arabia, Monaco and Spain.
Following the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, it became apparent that Ferrari has been struggling with a ride-height problem concerning the SF-25, which has compelled the team to adjust the car’s height beyond its intended specifications to avoid excessive wear on the skid blocks.
Hamilton encountered this issue in China, resulting in his disqualification from the main race just 24 hours after he secured victory in the sprint race held in Shanghai.
As reported by PlanetF1.com last month, Ferrari is in the process of implementing a substantial upgrade to the rear suspension, aimed at addressing the ride-height issue and enabling the team to tap into the car’s fundamental potential during the latter half of the season.
The update is anticipated to be ready for Hamilton’s home race, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, next month, having recently successfully completed crucial tests at Maranello.
However, this is likely to be one of the final major upgrades for the SF-25, as it has come to light that Ferrari is set to halt development for F1 2025 later this month.
A report from the Italian publication Auto Racer has indicated that while the team views the 2025 development as a ‘very dynamic’ scenario, ‘internal operations’ concerning the current car are nearing completion’.
This will result in a full transition to the F1 2026 program with ‘total space’ in the wind tunnel afforded to Project 678, with the switchover on schedule.
The news of Ferrari’s full transition to the F1 2026 car comes after Hamilton hinted that he would soon push the team to focus on Project 678.
Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com at the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this month, he said: “If I’m honest, I don’t know what upgrades we have coming [for F1 2025], but we haven’t had an upgrade for some time.
We’ll keep pushing with what we have, but before too soon I will just be saying: Let’s focus on next year.’
So we’re building a foundation this year, learning about the tools, the structures, our processes and just nailing those, so then when we arrive next year we will be with the car that we really want.
I think we are working on next year’s car. Whether or not we are 100 per cent on next year’s car, I can’t comment on.
Next year is the championship that’s currently open. This one would be a lot harder to win, but it’s still not closed.
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Hamilton’s comments came after Leclerc highlighted the Spanish Grand Prix as a key point in Ferrari’s season, calling for team boss Fred Vasseur to make a decision on how to split 2025 and 2026 resources after studying the impact of the Barcelona technical directive.
Asked if Ferrari have considered abandoning the F1 2025 season, Leclerc told media including PlanetF1.com: No.
We definitely don’t want to give up now. It’s still kind of early.
We’re getting to mid-season soon, but we cannot afford to give up now. We’ve seen last year the situation changed a lot since when McLaren brought those upgrades.
I believe that Barcelona [was] another very important point of the season with this new regulation on the front wings, and then we’ll see whether it benefits us or not.
Then we’ll have to make the decision probably Fred will have to make the decision whether it’s the right time to move on and prepare next season.
That is going to be super, super important for everyone to be starting on the right foot.
What is wrong with the car? I wish I knew. What’s in the pipeline? We’ve got quite a few things, but I cannot give any timelines.
And the timelines keep changing because the team is pushing a lot to bring them as early as possible.
There are things, but whether it’s going to be enough to close the gap – I hope so.
But to be in front and fighting for wins, I’m not sure yet.
The F1 2026 regulations represent one of the biggest changes in the sport’s history as both the chassis and engine rules are overhauled at the same time.
The upcoming season will witness Formula 1 adopting 50 percent electrification, entirely sustainable fuels, and active aerodynamics.
A report during the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend in April indicated that four out of the five manufacturers are facing significant challenges in developing their new engines, with only one being in ‘good shape’ for the 2026 F1 season.
One manufacturer is reported to be ‘uncompetitive’ as it has chosen a different type of biofuel compared to its competitors, all of whom have selected synthetic fuel for F1 2026.
Two other manufacturers are believed to be ‘far behind’ the clear leaders, while little information is available regarding the progress of the final engine manufacturer.
Mercedes, Hamilton’s former team, has been widely predicted to excel under the new regulations, having established itself as the dominant force in Formula 1 when the V6-hybrid engines were introduced in 2014, leading to an unprecedented period of success.
Mercedes secured eight consecutive Constructors’ titles from 2014 and seven Drivers’ championships shared between Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, the 2016 World Champion.
McLaren, Alpine and Williams will compete with Mercedes power in F1 2026 along with the factory team.
