Ferrari's disappointing 2025 Formula 1 season has been tough to stomach for all involved - but even the one potential positive from it has had a negative psychological impact that the team didn't fully anticipate.
It's easy to forget, given that Ferrari not winning races has become commonplace, but the start of this season was a proper suckerpunch to Ferrari's lofty pre-season expectations, set off the back of almost beating McLaren to the 2024 constructors' title this time last year.
But when it became obvious that McLaren had a 2025 championship-winning car and that Ferrari most certainly didn't, it at least gave Ferrari a clear pragmatic choice.
That call was to sacrifice much of 2025's development and switch focus to 2026 earlier than its rivals, with Red Bull in particular still intent on closing down McLaren this year, even at some cost to next year.
But team principal Fred Vasseur has now revealed that the psychological impact of that switch when there was still so much of the season left wasn't predicted.
"Quite early in the season, McLaren was so dominating in the first four or five events that we realised it would be very difficult for 2025," Vasseur explained.
"It meant that we decided very early in the season – I think it was the end of April – to switch to '26. It was a tough call.
"Perhaps I also underestimated a little bit the call on the psychological side, because when you still have 20 races to go, or 18 races to go, and you know that you won't bring any aero development, it's quite tough to manage psychologically.
"But overall, we continued to push. We brought some mechanical upgrades, and we are trying to do a better job operationally, and this is the DNA of our sport. We have to accept this.
"It was a call, and I'm still confident with the call that we made."
Ferrari did bring a suite of floor upgrades to the Austrian Grand Prix in late June and a revised rear suspension to Belgium in late July, but its aerodynamic windtunnel work has long been focused on 2026 developments.
That was a decision made in tandem with the drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, neither of whom have shied away from detailing just how tough 2025 has been.
"First, this decision was shared by everybody in the team," Vasseur said.
"For sure, the drivers were part of this decision. They are fully committed to the project. It's something we have to share altogether.
"In this kind of situation, you have to act as a team, and that's what we did in that stage of the season."
Ahead of a particularly miserable Qatar GP weekend, Leclerc explained that Ferrari had "sacrificed that end of that season to be focused fully on next year", with his hopes firmly pinned on 2026 being better.
In Abu Dhabi, Leclerc played down the impact of the switch: "It's not like it changed massively our approach to the season.
"It’s never something you want to do. I would have much preferred pushing the development the whole year to try and clinch that world title, 100%.
"But if you are in the position that we were in at the beginning of the year, I think it was kind of a no-brainer. So, I don’t regret it."
Bigger issues
Leclerc's team-mate Hamilton has seen a bigger impact than the effects of switching off 2025 development early.
He said "other things have needed attention" more than that and that "development has not been the issue".
Hamilton explained: "I wanted them to move to next year's car when we knew the car was not good. I wanted to make sure we started early. So I was in full support of that.
"It's a long year with what we have and with that. There are just other things that need to be worked on."
He also believes the poor results this year and the reception from the media has taken a big toll on the whole team.
"For all of the mechanics, engineers, for everyone back at the factory, every weekend, I'm sure the results…it's hard for them," Hamilton said.
"Turning up giving their best. I don't think that's just aero-related, it's just what we've been faced with this year. And also the negativity that's constantly within the media, like that, everything that affects them.
"They get home to their wives and their wives say they've been saying this about the people you work for and I'm sure it's tough on them and the kids and all those things.
"So there's a huge effect on a lot of people."
Whether Ferrari rebounds in 2026 and that 2025 "sacrifice" pays off remains to be seen, but it's clear that the psychological impact of a bruising year on and off the track might take a while to recover from.
