🏎️ F1 - Has Ferrari built the best chassis?

McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella believes around 70% of the gap to Mercedes comes from aerodynamics and the remaining 30% from power unit integration and utilisation.

The difference appears to lie not in outright engine power, but in how Mercedes extracts performance from its hybrid system.

Silverstone provided a perfect example. Mercedes' latest energy management strategy allowed Andrea Kimi Antonelli to gain almost 0.09 seconds over Oscar Piastri in the final sector alone through more effective energy recovery and deployment.

Reports also suggest Mercedes has already introduced a newer power unit specification to the works team, Williams and Alpine. McLaren, meanwhile, continues to run the previous version after extending the life of its current engines following the Chinese Grand Prix reliability issues.

The result is a fascinating paradox: McLaren is powered by the same Mercedes engine, yet still appears to be losing performance through energy management, calibration, gearbox integration and power unit specification.

Ferrari's biggest gain this season may not be a revolutionary aerodynamic concept, but a far better integrated engineering process led by Technical Director Chassis Loïc Serra.

The French engineer joined Ferrari in October 2024 after spending 14 years at Mercedes, where he established himself as one of Formula 1's leading experts in vehicle dynamics, suspension and tyre behaviour—the disciplines that determine how effectively a chassis converts aerodynamic load into lap time.

Rather than redesigning Ferrari's car from scratch, Serra focused on rebuilding the engineering process itself. He increased collaboration between the aerodynamics, chassis, suspension and vehicle dynamics departments, creating a much more integrated development cycle.

The weaknesses of the SF-25, Ferrari's 2025 challenger, highlighted why that was necessary. While the car generated impressive aerodynamic load, its suspension and vehicle dynamics often struggled to keep it operating within its ideal performance window, forcing Ferrari to compromise on set-up.

The results are now becoming visible. With two victories in the last three races, Ferrari appears to have built one of the most complete chassis packages on the grid.

The lesson is clear: in modern Formula 1, outright downforce is only part of the equation. The fastest cars are those that successfully integrate aerodynamics, suspension, tyres and vehicle dynamics into a single engineering package.

The table below shows the qualifying deficit of Formula 1's newest team across its first season.

The trend is encouraging. Cadillac has already reduced its qualifying deficit by almost one second since the opening race of the season—a strong sign that the team is learning quickly.

The next test comes at Spa-Francorchamps, the longest circuit on the Formula 1 calendar. Based on Cadillac's development trajectory so far, a qualifying gap of around 3.3–3.4 seconds would represent another step in the right direction.

For a brand-new team entering Formula 1 after more than a decade without a new constructor, steady progress is exactly what matters most.

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