Ferrari's struggles in Canada come down to a fundamental car issue: Reports

Ferrari recorded a 5-6 finish at the Canadian GP and emerged as the lowest-performing top team at the North American race. While the team tried to sideline the race by claiming it was an exception, according to reports circulating the paddock, the SF-25 has a fundamental flaw that holds it back from unlocking its true potential.

Ahead of Lewis Hamilton joining the elusive Scuderia, the prancing horses had been in a championship fight with McLaren for the constructors' title in 2024. The team had barely missed out on taking home the championship glory to Maranello and aimed at making the SF-24's successor a title contender.

The team changed the suspension geometry from a push rod suspension at the front axle to a pull rod for better center of gravity during cornering. However, the myriad of changes made by Ferrari were unable to overturn the team's fortunes, as such changes eventually came back to bite them.

At the Chinese Grand Prix, the scarlet duo were disqualified from the race for two different reasons, but it brought the team's sensitivity in ride height of the car to the limelight. While the Italian squad has not suffered such a massive setback since then, its performance metrics have gone down.

According to the Italian publication, Autoracer.it, the Maranello-based squad has opted for a precautionary approach since the double DSQ in China. Moreover, with the brake overheating issue at the Canadian GP, the flaw within the SF-25 compounded as the team came home behind its fierce rivals, Mercedes, Red Bull, and McLaren.

However, there is no easy fix to such an issue, as development for the SF-25 would be slowed down in light of the new regulation change lying on the horizon. So, the Italian giant might have to endure a season of mediocre results with some glimpses of strong performances sprinkled in between.

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Fred Vasseur admits the Canadian GP was a subpar weekend for Ferrari

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur at the F1 Grand Prix of Canada - Source: Getty

Ahead of the Canadian GP, rumours regarding Fred Vasseur's job security as the team principal at Ferrari had become a hot topic. With Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finishing fifth and sixth, respectively, questions looming around the Frenchman's stay at Maranello are not disappearing anytime soon.

Despite this, Vasseur is known to give an honest take on the team's situation and admitted how the Canadian GP weekend was not the one Ferrari had hoped for in a post-race interview:

"This weekend we made too many mistakes from FP1 in one car, and then in quali, and then a problem for Lewis in the race. Pace wise we weren’t that far — the problem is we didn’t put everything together."

"Upgrades? They'll arrive soon, but I don't think that's the main issue. We were able to do purple in sector one, it's not that the car is bad or that we need upgrades. I'm not sure the other cars bring upgrades every weekend."

On the other hand, George Russell won the Canadian GP with Max Verstappen finishing as the runner-up. Meanwhile, 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli rounded out the podium for the elusive race.