Ferrari reveal 'psychological' impact of sensationally early car shutdown

Fred Vasseur has revealed the "psychological" price paid by Ferrari following his decision to stop development so early into this season.

The Scuderia's team principal has revealed for the first time exactly when he made the call to end aerodynamic development on the SF-25, and focus on next year's dramatically revised car under the new regulations.

Vasseur has confirmed that after witnessing McLaren's dominant start to the season, in which it won four of the first five races, and was already 110 points clear of Ferrari in the constructors' championship, he chose to pull the plug. The impact, however, caught him by surprise.

Asked at what point in the season he realised it was going to be tougher than he had hoped, speaking to the media, including RacingNews365, Vasseur said: "We didn't start in the best way with the double disqualification in China. This cost us tons of points compared to our competitors.

"And quite early in the season, McLaren was so dominant over the first four or five events that we realised it would be very difficult for 2025. It means that we decided very early into the season, I think it was the end of April, to switch to '26.

"It was a tough call, and perhaps I underestimated a little the call on the psychological side, because when you still have 18, 20 races to go, and you know that you won't be bringing any aero development, it's quite tough to manage psychologically.

"Overall, we continued to push. We brought some mechanical upgrades, and we have tried to do a better job operationally. This is the DNA of our sport, but we have to accept this.

"It was a call, and I’m still confident with the call that we made, and now let's fight for P2 in these conditions."

The season has been one of constant struggle for the team, with drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton bemoaning the fact that there has been no development on the car.

Hamilton, in particular, is in a wretched run of form, to such an extent that it now appears as if he cannot wait for the season to end.

As to the mitigating steps put in place by Vasseur following the development shut-off announcement, and whether there was any impact on the drivers, he said: "First, the decision was shared with everybody in the team.

"When you look at the championship, it was going to be very difficult to come back on McLaren.

"So you say, 'Okay, with the resources we have in the wind tunnel, let's be focused on '26'.

"At the other end, you can continue to develop the mechanical side and bring some upgrades to the car, except aero, and that's what we did. It was a good exercise.

"For sure, the drivers were part of this decision, because they are fully committed to the project, and it's something that we have to share all together, that in this kind of situation, you have to act as a team.

"And it's what we did at this stage of the season."