Ferrari SF-25 upgrades explained with significant new floor on the list in Bahrain

Matthew Somerfield 11 Apr 2025 1:46 PM

Ferrari arrived in Bahrain with a clutch of new components in a bid to put their drivers back in the mix, having been a little adrift of the lead pack in the opening few Grand Prix.

This package of new components includes an extensive overhaul of the Ferrari SF-25’s floor and diffuser, whilst a new winglet arrangement has been added to the side of the rear wing mounting pillar, as the team look to extract more performance from their beam wing.

Redressing the balance

Most eyes will be drawn to Ferrari’s new floor, with Hamilton the only one to using this specification during FP1, with Beganovic circling the circuit with the previous specification, in order that the team can accrue some back-to-back comparative data. The floor has been modified in several ways in order to boost performance and widen the car’s operating window, something that’s seemingly stymied the Scuderia in the opening few rounds.

In that respect, it has been suggested that the outgoing specification required the car’s ride height to be raised by a few more millimetres than was optimal in terms of delivering the necessary downforce, as any attempts to lower the car created an issue synonymous with this generation of cars, whereby it delivered an inconsistent load, compromising the car’s balance.

The overhaul of the floor’s design extends from front to back, with the fences, edge wing, underfloor and diffuser all modified to help extract more performance from the SF-25.

The changes made to the fences include adding an extra step in the inboard fence that lies above the floor’s tideline (arrowed), whilst there’s an interesting interpretation on the outer floor fence, with the rearward steps that intersect the down sloping transition elongated, in order that their height can also be amended. On top of this and by virtue of their length, those steps are now also more recessed and positioned more closely to the car’s centreline.

Aft of this region the edge wing has been modified too, with a longer upswept section now present, whilst three more prominent strakes are embedded along its length, rather than two.

The reconfiguration of this front portion of the floor and fences suggests that the team needed to find a more robust solution for overcoming the wake turbulence created by the front wheel assembly, with the adjustments made to the fences undoubtedly about altering the vortex structures that are formed and their effect on the airflow thereafter.

There’s also been some changes further back, as the contours in the floor where it kicks ahead of the diffuser. Meanwhile, the diffuser boat tail section has also been modified, with the keel narrowed and flattened.

Moving onto the other changes being made around the SF-25 and there’s a new and interesting pair of L-shaped winglets added to the side of the rear wing mounting pillar (circled and enlarged, inset), that take the place of the more traditional winged elements that resided here before (smaller inset).

The premise of these new winglets is to improve the flow characteristics of the airflow passing by, which includes some of the heat being rejected from the engine cover, thereby increasing the yield from the beam wing and diffuser downstream.

Ferrari