Ferrari F1 car’s main issue now well-known across the paddock, says journalist

Benson spoke about Ferrari’s ongoing issues during the Dutch Grand Prix weekend on Chequered Flag, pointing to a well-known problem within the team.

“Well, there’s been a bit of an open secret about the Ferrari this year, as the season’s gone, it’s become more and more open as a secret. And that is that they’ve been struggling with ride height. Basically, the car needs to run really low to be competitive.

“But the problem is, if they run it as low as it needs, as they would like to run it, then it wears the floor out too much.

He also noted how Charles Leclerc was affected by these adjustments at Hungary: “And that’s what happened at the end of Hungary. Charles Leclerc lost a lot of pace because they effectively raised the car by raising the tyre pressures, and he was backing off on the straights to stop the floor banging into the track.”

“They didn’t quite admit it in so many words, but they more or less admitted it on Thursday because George Russell had mentioned that after Hungary and Charles Leclerc said, well, it’s more complicated than that, but he didn’t deny it.

“And then I asked Leclerc after that, is it going to carry on all year? And he basically said, ‘Yes, but we’re going to manage it in a different way.’

“So we’re going to watch for that for the rest of the season. Ferrari are beginning to lose pace in the races. They’ve basically got a choice. Do they go really fast for some of the race and then slow down, or keep a more steady average pace?”

Ferrari made significant changes at Zandvoort

The rear suspension has been one of Ferrari’s biggest headaches this season but heading into Belgium there was optimism around Maranello about finally having found an answer.

A spin during sprint qualifying set Hamilton back early in Belgium, but he fought back well while Leclerc picked up his fifth podium finish of 2025.

A week later in Budapest, things looked even brighter when Leclerc took pole position before tyre pressure adjustments during his final pit stop saw him slip out of podium contention once again.

This led Ferrari to make sweeping changes ahead of Zandvoort, although Friday practice still left plenty of questions, with Leclerc calling it their worst Friday session so far this year.

The team show flickers of promise heading into their home race at the Italian Grand Prix, but it remains to be seen if Leclerc can replicate his heroics from last season or if Hamilton will finally claim his first win with the Scuderia.