The world of Formula 1 has been engulfed by a scandal that threatens to rock Scuderia Ferrari: team engineers have discovered a fundamental and shocking manufacturing flaw hidden in the engine of Lewis Hamilton’s SF-25, the car that should have marked the seven-time world champion’s triumphant debut in Maranello.

This is not bad luck or a random anomaly, but a production error in the beating heart of the power unit, which compromised Ferrari’s performance for much of the 2025 season.

This revelation, which emerged after an in-depth post-Brazilian GP inspection, casts shadows on a year defined by Hamilton as a “nightmare” and raises burning questions: how much has this failure cost the Ferrari’s world championship dreams?

And who will answer for it? While the team races against time to make amends before Abu Dhabi, Ferrari finds itself on the brink of an internal crisis that could accelerate plans for 2026 and reshape the future of the Hamilton-Leclerc project.

The bomb exploded in the Maranello laboratories on Monday 16 November, when a team of specialists disassembled the engine of Hamilton’s SF-25 after a series of preliminary analyzes during the Brazilian weekend. The flaw? A structural problem in the engine block, caused by an anomalous fusion of light alloys during the production phase, which created microfractures invisible to the naked eye but devastating under thermal load. Sources within the Prancing Horse, confirmed byAutosprint, reveal that these cracks resulted in a 3-5% efficiency loss in terms of power delivery, especially in qualifying phases and high-speed overtaking. “It wasn’t a stroke of bad luck,” an anonymous senior engineer toldLa Gazzetta dello Sport. “It’s a manufacturing error that compromised the entire hybrid package. Hamilton has been fighting an invisible monster all year.”

The timing couldn’t have been worse. Hamilton’s 2025 season with Ferrari – the Briton’s “childhood dream” – was an ordeal: zero victories, only three podiums (all inherited from the retirements of others), and a sixth place in the drivers’ standings with 180 points, 66 behind his teammate Charles Leclerc. Key moments? The Chinese GP, where Hamilton won the Sprint but was disqualified for excessive wear of the dashboard (a problem linked to the low setup to compensate for the lack of power); Monza, with a retirement due to turbo failure; and Brazil, where Hamilton’s SF-25 suddenly lost grip at the end, causing him to fall from P6 to P10. “I felt something strange – abnormal vibrations, irregular delivery,” Hamilton confided in an exclusive interview withSky Sport F1. “Now I know it wasn’t my driving, but a birth defect. It’s frustrating, but it explains a lot.”

The discovery comes after months of speculation. Ferrari engineers, led by technical director Loïc Serra (ex-Mercedes), had noticed anomalies in the telemetry data: drops in power of 15-20 HP when accelerating above 250 km/h, initially attributable to conservative mapping to respect the budget cap. But the post-Brazil inspection – accelerated by an order from John Elkann, Ferrari president – ​​revealed the truth: microfractures in the cylinder block, caused by a non-homogeneous aluminum alloy during casting in Maranello. “A human error in the production chain,” admits an inside source. “We lost downforce equivalent to 0.3 seconds per lap at high-speed circuits like Monza and Spa.” Elkann, furious, ordered a full audit: “Talk less, drive more,” he thundered at drivers in an internal meeting, echoing criticism of Hamilton for his public comments on the seasonal “nightmare”.

The repercussions are immediate and devastating. Ferrari, fourth in the Constructors’ standings with 420 points (36 behind Mercedes, 4 from Red Bull), saw chances of extra podiums vanish: Hamilton, adapting to a “different world from Mercedes,” lost confidence in fast corners, as he confessed at Silverstone (P4, first without a podium since 2013). Leclerc, with seven podiums, masked the gap, but admits: “The engine betrayed us – Lewis suffered more from adaptation.” The defect forced high setups to preserve the dashboard (remember Austin’s disqualifications?), costing downforce and competitiveness. Now, with three GPs left (Las Vegas, Qatar, Abu Dhabi), the Red team aims to save what can be saved: emergency repairs for Hamilton, focus on 2026 with the new front pull-rod chassis (inspired by Lewis’ style). But the psychological damage? Huge. “I lost confidence,” Hamilton admitted. “I felt like I was sitting on the front wheels – now I know why.”

Internally, storm coming. Enrico Cardile, former technical director who left for Aston Martin, is the scapegoat: “His management delayed the tests,” accuse the engineers. But the real target? Production: defective alloys from Italian suppliers, perhaps savings on the budget cap ($145M). Elkann, Hamilton’s ally since the “Google camp” in Italy, promised: “Resolution before 2026 – or heads will roll.” Vasseur, team principal, downplays: “Huge downforce loss – perhaps from contacts or wing, but the engine is to blame.”

For the fans, shock and anger. #DefectFerrari trends with 1.5M posts: “Not luck – fraud!” Montoya warns: “If they listen to Hamilton, Ferrari becomes unstoppable – but does Leclerc wait?” Steiner: “Bearman to replace Lewis in 2027?” The season – “nightmare” for Hamilton – ends with Abu Dhabi (28-30 November). Flaw or destiny? Maranello burns; 2026 awaits. Ferrari doesn’t give up – but the heart of the SF-25 has betrayed it.

Abu Dhabi GP: 28-30 November. Live on Sky Sports F1. #DefectFerrari #HamiltonNightmare #SF25Scandal 🏁🔥