Ferrari mechanic reveals morale issues after winless 2025 F1 season

Hamilton made the move from Mercedes to Ferrari in 2025, convinced they had everything needed for a title run. But apart from an F1 Sprint win in China during the second round, he had little to cheer about all year.

It was the first time in his 19-year career that Hamilton went a full season without standing on a Grand Prix podium. Leclerc managed seven podiums, but even that couldn’t lift spirits inside the team.

Barilla told Quotidiano Sportivo: “At the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, I greeted a small group of Ferrari mechanics and told them we support them and suffer with them.

“One of them said to me, ‘Hey, we never celebrate’. I was so sorry to see so much bitterness in someone who deserves so much more.”

Fred Vasseur can’t pin Ferrari’s struggles on early 2026 focus

Ferrari were the only one of the big four F1 teams to fail to win at least one Grand Prix in the 2025 season, with McLaren securing 14, Red Bull eight and Mercedes two. Leclerc even took the Scuderia’s sole pole position, while McLaren took 13, Red Bull eight and Mercedes two.

2025 marked Ferrari’s first winless campaign since 2021. But Vasseur can’t point to early work on F1’s 2026 regulations as the sole reason for their struggles – not when McLaren also shifted focus in July and still managed a dominant year.

Ferrari expected to fight McLaren in 2025 after finishing 14 points shy of the title last term. But while McLaren reaped the rewards from changing their suspension set-up over the off-season, Ferrari’s new suspension set-up in 2025 created their chronic ride height problems.

In response, Ferrari are planning a significant change for next season by adopting push-rods on both axles instead of pull-rods under new regulations. The hope is that this overhaul will not only close the performance gap but also bring back moments worth celebrating for their crew.