Car

F1 2025 upgrade analysis: Ferrari and Red Bull pushing to catch up in Europe after McLaren's Miami benchmark

May 12, 2025

by Rosario Giuliana

5min read

F1 2025 Miami Grand Prix start, Max Verstappen around the outside of Oscar PIastri

The 2025 Miami Formula 1 Grand Prix was a tough test for all 10 F1 teams, including Red Bull and Ferrari, thanks to high temperatures, a slippery surface and a layout peppered with slower corners.

Ferrari F1 car following red Bull F1 car

Max Verstappen finished fourth in Miami and remains the closest challenger to the two McLaren drivers

All of these factors highlighted cars that could generate downforce at low speed and optimise tyre heat management – and it was McLaren who excelled here again. Meanwhile, Ferrari clearly struggled in the conditions.

As for Red Bull, Max Verstappen might be the main challenger to the two McLaren drivers, but the Dutchman is unable to fight them on equal footing as the RB21 F1 car falls short on race pace.

Here's how Red Bull and Ferrari are attempting to catch up with McLaren, and why McLaren began the 2025 F1 season on the front foot with four wins for Oscar Piastri and one for Lando Norris.

Why McLaren has hit the perfect car balance in 2025

The McLaren MCL39 was almost perfectly adapted to the layout of Miami International Autodrome because the car handled high thermal stress and slow corners well with a communicative front end, plus a suspension package that allows for a stable aerodynamic platform and sharp steering inputs.

These traits allowed Piastri and Norris to exploit more aggressive driving lines on corner entry without triggering skidding or loss of traction.

While other teams struggle to keep the front tyres up to temperature without overheating the rear tyres, McLaren manages to get both working in synergy – limiting tyre degradation and maximising traction on exit.

The team introduced a new diffuser in Saudi Arabia but neither Piastri nor Norris used it in Miami. It was either an experiment focused on higher-speed circuits or it still needs windtunnel and CFD validation. Yet, McLaren didn't miss it in Miami.

Furthermore, rumours of McLaren using water injection to cool its tyres were dismissed in the United States and tyre supplier Pirelli found nothing untoward.

McLaren won five of the first six grands prix in 2025

The rear brake bell designs sported by McLaren, Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari in early 2025 - showing how each team attempts to dissipate tyre heat using the brakes

Red Bull explores convective heat transfer in a bid to cool tyres

Red Bull isn't on par with McLaren but it is taking small steps to catch up as the 2025 season nears its halfway mark.

Aforementioned rumours of water injection within the tyres have given way to a concerted effort to improve rear tyre cooling; Red Bull engineers are exploring aerodynamic solutions, suspecting that McLaren may be controlling tyre temperatures through clever heat management between the brake drum and the inner sidewall of the tyre - possibly through convective heat transfer.

Convective heat transfer is the process of transferring heat through the movement of fluids such as air. Hotter fluid rises as it is less dense; cooler fluid sinks as it is denser. One example of this is boiling water in a pan: When water molecules at the bottom of the pan heat up, they lose density and rise, displacing colder water molecules, creating visible bubbles.

Through the same principles, F1 teams can control the heat of their tyres by displacing hot air with colder air. McLaren seems to have this principle nailed as it leads the drivers' and constructors' championships while Red Bull has attempted to emulate the effects with new brake bell designs.

A subtly redesigned floor adorned Verstappen’s Red Bull in Miami, featuring slightly different curvature

More Red Bull upgrades appear in Miami

Red Bull also brought an upgrade to Verstappen's car in Miami, limited to the bottom of the RB21 car. This upgrade appeared to change the curvature around the outside of the floor to improve stability as the car rolled and pitched – but it may also have played a role in helping the underfloor and generate consistent downforce through the Venturi tunnels.

The new Red Bull floor appears to be the first step in a more substantial package planned for Imola that could include more visible changes. On bumpy tracks such as Imola, the RB21 has shown some sensitivity to ground clearance changes – so Verstappen's Miami update hints at an attempt to change that characteristic.

Why is Ferrari struggling in 2025?

Miami was expected to be a difficult race for the Ferrari SF-25, but the reality proved to be even more challenging.

The Scuderia continues to suffer on circuits with low average speeds and a need for great traction. Its problem is twofold: a rear end that tends to lose stability on corner entry and an uncommunicative front end that penalises sharp cornering with understeer.

Miami includes fast sections but slow corners to break those up - and it was there that Ferrari struggled

The SF-25 seems to have a narrow set-up window. As soon as it exits its ideal conditions – medium-abrasive surfaces, moderately high temperatures, and medium-fast corners – the balance breaks down and the car loses pace.

Ferrari tried to fix this on Saturday in Miami after the sprint race but the car balance was thrown the other way, hinting that the SF-25 is too sensitive to small set-up changes.

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