Mar.25 (GMM) Ferrari will attempt to put its wobbling 2025 Formula 1 campaign back on track next weekend in Japan.
According to authoritative Italian media sources, the Maranello based team plans to introduce a new floor for the car, following a particularly up-and-down weekend in China.
Lewis Hamilton won the Shanghai sprint from pole, but the pace then slipped away as the Formula One Management-directed TV feed honed in on an apparent order given to the seven time world champion to give up his position to Charles Leclerc.
Team boss Frederic Vasseur called it a “joke”, accusing FOM of deliberately omitting the part of the radio exchange that revealed how Hamilton actually suggested the swap.
“We had absolutely no intention of spreading false information,” a spokesperson for FOM insisted, adding that omitting the rest of the conversation “was not done intentionally”.
Then, after the race, both red cars were disqualified – Leclerc underweight, and Hamilton’s sister car was found to have an illegally worn plank.
The Italian media, however, is more worried about the pace.
“SOS Ferrari,” headlined La Repubblica.
“There’s no time to lose,” explained journalist Alessandra Retico. “The new floor may already be in Japan.”
La Stampa’s Jacopo D’Orsi agreed: “It seems that Maranello has chosen the path to recovery, thanks to a new floor configuration that could be introduced as early as the next race in Suzuka.”
Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko is refusing to write the team off.
“They’ll sort things out,” he told Osterreich newspaper. “I’m not writing off Ferrari just yet.”
La Gazzetta dello Sport’s technical journalist Paolo Filisetti concurs: “The project is still immature, but there is potential.
“Developments are planned for the floor to better manage the ride heights.”
Another issue, apart from the disputed team order, was Hamilton and Leclerc’s first collision. But boss Vasseur is not at all worried.
“The collaboration between the two guys was and is great, and I can’t complain for a second about that,” said the Frenchman.
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