Should Ferrari Be Eyeing the 2026 F1 Season Now?

The Spanish Grand Prix was intended to be an important race for Ferrari in the 2025 Formula 1 world championship. And while the race saw the Scuderia return to second position in the constructors’ standings, the expected step forward was clearly not achieved – and Lewis Hamilton was left asking for a shift in focus to next year.

During the Barcelona race, Ferrari benefited from having both of their drivers finish within the top six positions, thereby improving their overall standings. Mercedes and Red Bull had just one each in the top 10 as a result of Andrea Kimi Antonelli ’s reliability issues and Yuki Tsunoda 's continuing challenges with the team — while Max Verstappen's penalty pushed him back to 10th, providing an additional advantage for Ferrari.

This indicates that the Scuderia is McLaren Once again, their primary competitor appears to be so on paper at least. However, upon closer inspection of the statistics, the team based in Maranello has scant grounds for satisfaction regarding their staffing situation.

The implementation of the FIA’s new regulations for assessing front wing flexibility aimed to make Ferrari's SF-25 more competitive against the orange-liveried cars. However, McLaren unveiled what they claimed to be a sturdier wing design during the race at Imola; Mercedes also introduced their version of this updated component. Alpine and kept its lead with a margin of three-tenths or four-tenths over Ferrari – even though the red car also received a new wing upgrade.

No step forward

Charles Leclerc sacrificed qualifying, with just one run in Q3, in the hope of capitalising on two new sets of mediums in the race, but this didn’t pay off – without the safety car and the drama that followed, he would have finished behind Max Verstappen .

The Monegasque admitted this had been the wrong choice, as modern F1 favours track position – so the best possible qualifying result.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Before the Canadian Grand Prix, Ferrari might bring a new floor and rear suspension that were initially planned for the British Grand Prix in July. However, the team isn't getting their expectations too high. In Maranello, they refer to the SF-25 as a 'poorly performing car', and upcoming upgrades aim at improving things somewhat but not completely transforming it.

The 2025 machinery was supposed to have greater development potential; instead, aerodynamic updates are slow-paced and ideas are scarce. With the latest upgrades not being satisfactory, there may be a level of awareness that the current car won’t go down in history as a memorable one.

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These challenges indicate that Hamilton’s romance with the Ferrari brand is beginning to fade. Despite being a seven-time world champion, he continually states that no updates can salvage this season and suggests focusing entirely on developing next year’s vehicle. Only Team Principal Fred Vasseur remains steadfastly optimistic about their present equipment’s potential.

Ferrari faces a significant choice shortly: despite the competition for second place still being highly uncertain and with enhancements planned, is it worthwhile to put more resources into developing the SF-25 before the new technical regulations come into effect in 2026?