THE 2025 MOTORING SPECIAL

For many petrolheads, 2025 will be marked by a battle for supremacy between global EV giants, accelerated growth and key technological breakthroughs. For the tifosi, 2025 is simply the year of Ferrari.

- PARTH CHARAN

IMAGINE THE VIEW from behind Lewis Hamilton's freshly minted Scuderia Ferrari helmet visor. A childhood dream unfolding right in front of his eyes as the SF-25 takes its maiden lap around the Bahrain International Circuit for the pre-testing season. It's not hyperbole to assume that putting a state-of-the-art Ferrari F1 car through its paces plays out like a fever dream, even if you are a seven-time world champion.

Such is the aura of brand Ferrariarguably the most storied carmaker in history.

Having returned to form in the 2024 F1 season, Ferrari appears to be, once again, firing on all cylinders.

Although it narrowly missed out on the Constructors' Championship title by 14 points to a resurgent McLaren, Scuderia Ferrari secured crucial wins at Monza and Monaco, as well as a 1-2 finish at the United States Grand Prix.

Its long overdue success on the F1 circuit can be attributed partly to some truly inspired driving from Charles Leclerc and his now former teammate Carlos Sainz and partly to the surgically precise strategic execution from team principal Frédéric Vasseur.

Ferrari's success in any form remains incomplete without success on the racetrack. To quote erstwhile F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, "Ferrari is F1 and F1 is Ferrari".

Ecclestone's famous line echoes the brand's driving principle: that for Ferrari, sport supersedes business. It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the market identifier code "RACE". Although you wouldn't know by looking at its revenue sheet.

In 2023, Ferrari's net profit breached the $1 billion mark for the first time in its history. Its shares have risen nearly 30 per cent over the past year.