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Ferrari is changing its front suspension concept with its 2025 car as part of a raft of changes it hopes will deliver a first Formula 1 world championship since 2008, although technical partner Haas has decided against taking the latest specification.
While Haas will use Ferrari's 2025 rear suspension and gearbox, it has decided against taking what is expected to be a reconfigured pullrod front suspension design because it expects to be more competitive with the 2024 pushrod version owing to the time and resources it would take to adapt to the new version.
PULLROD VS PUSHROD
Ferrari has not officially confirmed its design plans, but it is expected to switch to a pullrod configuration at the front end.
This means it will join a group of teams that comprised Red Bull, McLaren, RB and Sauber last year, with the rest running pushrod front suspension.
While the choice between a pull or pushrod configuration at the front is widely reckoned to be a close-run thing in terms of performance potential, it can offer packaging and aerodynamic advantages, while The Race's technical expert Gary Anderson has also suggested it allows greater front suspension rising rate, which allows for greater fine control of ride height and response at the front end.
This is thanks to the front suspension effectively running softer at higher ride heights for grip in slow-speed corners, with the suspension stiffer at lower ride heights to give greater stability when needed.
WHY HAAS DOESN'T WANT IT
Haas's technical partnership with Ferrari gives it access to the latest-specification Ferrari parts for much of its car, outside of the listed team components "whose design, manufacture and intellectual property is owned and/or controlled by a single competitor or its agents on an exclusive basis".
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu did not make any reference to the Ferrari 2025 configuration specifically, but explained his team's decision to stick with Ferrari's old front suspension was motivated by the desire for continuity and the advantage that will confer in terms of performance. He also described it as significant that this is the first time Haas has not chosen latest-specification Ferrari parts.
"That's a significant moment in my mind, because so far in nine seasons of Haas F1 team, we always went with Ferrari's latest supply, and not because that was the informed choice, because that was the safest and easiest choice," said Komatsu.
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"It's not like this year we wanted to make a point, but Andrea [De Zordo, technical director] and Davide [Paganelli, head of aero] and Damien [Brayshaw, performance director], came to me and said [this was the right decision].
"They've been talking about this for the last few seasons, but we never actually did carry over the front suspension. But when they looked at it properly in terms of, 'OK, if we buy Ferrari's '25 front suspension, when are we going to have the information available and what does that mean in terms of the aero hit?' because you have to take a hit first, you have to recover.
"So comparing that and how much potential that unlocks against [the benefit if you] don't stop development because we carry over the front suspension.
"They've done the proper study and the conclusion was we should do a carryover. Then we had the confidence to then go for that decision, whereas before we didn't."
Komatsu stressed the decision wasn't influenced by the major regulations changes in 2026 and the need to dedicate significant aerodynamic testing and research and development time to that project. Instead, he argued it was purely a decision dictated by performance, likely strengthened by the fact that a change in the configuration would lead to a longer period of aerodynamic readjustment.
"At the end of the day, we have to be competitive in '25 as well," said Komatsu when asked by The Race if 2026 work played a role in the decision. "It's not like we can say we're focusing on '26 so we write off '25, that was the excuse in previous times but it cannot happen.
"So we said, 'To be the best in '25, which is the best solution?' And then after the proper study, their recommendation was we should go with the carryover. So I said, 'Good, go for it'."
The Haas VF-25 will feature a brand-new monocoque rather than carrying over last year's design. This is because of the need to make changes to unlock aerodynamic opportunity in key areas.
"We developed the [2024] car pretty well last year, but there are certain limitations that we had to accept," Komatsu explained.
"And then things we learned mid-season about how to unlock performance - even [things] we wanted to do for Silverstone and Austin [upgrades] but we couldn't do because of the limitation of the chassis design. So we decided to change for this year’s car."
Komatsu also described the car as "an evolution [based on] what we've been learning throughout the year", meaning the car will build on the success of the Haas VF-24 that ended last season as the fifth-fastest car despite slipping to seventh in the constructors' championship behind Alpine.
HAAS'S 2025 CAR DEBUT PLAN
The Haas VF-25 will run for the first time at Silverstone on February 16 on a filming day in the hands of Esteban Ocon. The relatively tall Ocon will drive first, according to Komatsu, "because Esteban, in terms of driver installation, is more challenging so we just want to make 100% sure it is fine so if we've got an issue we've got more time to react".
This is as a precaution in case changes have to be made, although it's not expected to be a problem given Ocon was accommodated successfully in both the 2023 and 2024 Haas cars that he has already driven.
Bearman will then drive the car on the team’s second filming day held two days before pre-season testing, which runs from February 26-28, begins.
