Significant changes to Ferrari’s 2025 car headline a small list of upgrades declared by Formula 1 teams for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Mark Hughes on Ferrari's changes
Here is what appears to be Ferrari’s reaction to its recent ride height-related struggles.
Just as with Haas’s upgrade at Suzuka last week, there is a reshaped ‘canoe’ section to the central flat floor area so as to energise the tunnel airflow differently.
But the changes are more extensive than that: the front floor has been reprofiled, the fences at the entry to the tunnels realigned and the floor edges are modified to give a redirected diffuser shedding into the diffuser.
There is also a tweak to the winglet on the rear wing pillar.
At the start of FP1 rookie driver Dino Beganovic used the old floor while Lewis Hamilton tested the new floor.
Ferrari's upgrade explanaton
Ferrari deputy team principal Jerome d'Ambrosio said of the upgrade's aims: "More than a characteristic change it's just adding a bit of performance, adding a bit of downforce in the continuity of what we've been developing over the winter.
"It's just as simple as hopefully we've added a little bit of downforce, kept a good drivability, and added a bit of performance on the car. Having said that, our expectations are not that this is going to revolutionise the whole performance picture.
"It's just hopefully adding that bit of performance that's at the end of the line very important because every 0.01s that you add on the car, it's a step forward, and that's what we're trying to chase. Again, not to revolutionise anything but just to add marginal and steady gains on the car."
D'Ambrosio insisted the upgrade was always intended for introduction in Bahrain rather than being fast-tracked.
Other teams' changes
McLaren
A new winglet on the McLaren’s front brake duct to give better airflow conditioning further downstream.
Red Bull
A front wing with a longer chord flap is available to give a wider range of balancing options with the rear wing range.
There is a bigger louvre area in the top bodywork in anticipation of high ambient temperatures here.
Haas
The central cooling exit at the rear of the engine cover has been increased in size in anticipation of the high ambient temperatures forecast.
