F1 Imola 2025: Every Team’s Upgrades Explained (And Why They Matter)

IT'S RAAAAAACE WEEKEND, and it's at Imola 🤭🥰

The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix is the upgrade weekend. Always has been 😗

It’s the point in the season where teams stop guessing and start swinging...

Teams show up with big aero overhauls, new wings, floor changes, and whatever last-minute genius their engineers have been cooking since Bahrain.

Why so many upgrades at Imola?

Imola usually marks the first big upgrade weekend of the Formula 1 season because of where it falls on the calendar.

By this point, teams have run the first handful of races (often on very different types of tracks) and gathered enough data to understand what’s working and what isn’t.

Buttttt until now, there hasn’t been enough time to design, simulate, manufacture, AND test full-scale upgrades.

So, Imola is the first race where all of that finally comes together.

It’s also the start of the European leg, which makes logistics easier because teams can bring larger, more complex parts without worrying about freight delays.

THAT’S why you’ll often see new floors, front wings, sidepods, and even suspension tweaks debut here.

It’s not just a race, it’s a reset button, and it often shows us who’s ready to fight and who’s falling behind.

So let’s get into it 😏

🤔 What’s everyone bringing?

🤔 Why does it matter?

🤔 And will any of it actually work?

McLaren

Upgrades: New floor + updated diffuser

McLaren didn’t come to mess around 😗✌️

They’ve already had one of the best-balanced cars this season, and now they’re refining it even further.

The new floor and diffuser combo is designed to improve ground effect (the vacuum that sucks the car into the track and gives you grip without drag

These updates are particularly tuned for high-downforce corners like Tosa and Acque Minerali, where rotation and traction make or break lap time.

The floor and diffuser generate the majority of downforce on an F1 car.

Better airflow under the car = better grip without killing top speed.

At a place like Imola, where every corner demands commitment, this gives Piastri and Norris even more confidence on turn-in and throttle.

If they were title contenders before, they’re serious threats now.

Red Bull

Upgrades: New front wing + refined floor edge (on both cars)

Red Bull’s Miami floor upgrade helped with high-speed grip, buttttt it messed with balance.

This new front wing was built to “reconnect” the car from nose to tail.

So...

Basically, it tunes the airflow that hits the rest of the car, correcting the imbalance the new floor caused.

• Also important: Yuki is finally getting the full-spec car. They want data from both sides of the garage, and they need to know if this setup actually works in traffic and not just in clean air at the front.

The front wing sets the tone for the entire aero package...

If it’s out of sync with the floor, you get understeer, unpredictable handling, or tyre overheating.

You don't want ANY OF THOSE 🫣

These changes should help Red Bull regain the edge in chicanes and quick direction changes, where they've been vulnerable.

If this works, Max will be back in BEAST mode. If not? McLaren are pulling away (and I am crying myself to sleep xoxo)

Ferrari

Upgrades: New floor + new sidepods (but not the full package yet)

Ferrari’s original plan was to bring a MEGA upgrade package to Imola.

Buttttt now that’s been split in two.

We'regonna get the floor and sidepods now, and the revised suspension and bodywork are coming in Spain.

So what do these changes actually do? 🤔

Well, the floor aims to boost rear downforce and improve stability under braking.

The sidepods have been reshaped to direct airflow more cleanly toward the rear...

Which means:

• Better cooling

• Less drag

• More consistent aero balance.

The SF-25 has been twitchy on corner entry... the rear just doesn’t feel planted.

These updates should reduce that snap-oversteer and make the car more predictable.

That will be especially helpful at Rivazza and Variante Alta, where rear stability is everything.

It won’t solve ALL of their problems, but it’s step one.

Aaaaaaaand I rate Charles could absolutely stick this thing on the front row if it clicks 😏😏😏

Mercedes

Upgrades: New floor + possible new rear wing

This is Merc’s biggest upgrade push of the year so far.

They’ve designed a completely new floor to increase downforce without adding drag, which sounds like a dream, but it’s what every team is chasing.

There’s also a strong possibility of a revised rear wing, which would give them better DRS effect and more straight-line speed (something they’ve lacked all season)

The W15 has great balance, buttttt it’s missing pure pace.

This floor should help with that (especially in Sector 2 aka the twisty, flowy bits)

Better DRS also means more overtaking power. Also a slay.

If the upgrades work, they could maybe be fighting for wins. If not… they’ll still be playing catch-up.

Aston Martin

Upgrades: New front wing + floor changes

Aston have had a rough time.

Every floor they’ve brought this season has made things WORSE. Every time, the car just hasn’t responded the way simulations predicted.

This time, they’re bringing a new front wing (likely built to comply with upcoming flexi-wing rules) and some floor tweaks designed to give more predictable aero behaviour.

They’ve had a huge problem with wind tunnel correlation (what works in theory hasn’t worked on track for them)

These upgrades are meant to stabilize front-end grip and make the car more driveable for Alonso and Stroll.

If it still doesn’t work? It’s a red flag for 2026 development too 😳😳😳

It’s a test weekend, and they know it. One car might even run the old spec to compare.

Racing Bulls (RB)

Upgrades: New floor + diffuser + possibly a new front wing

RB came out ✨️swinging✨️ this year, but they’ve started slipping back in the midfield battle a bit.

This triple threat of upgrades is aimed at regaining a lil consistency.

The floor and diffuser should improve rear-end grip in fast corners.

And the rumoured front wing would help balance out the car’s tendency to understeer mid-corner 👀

They’ve beeeeeeeen struggling with tyre wear and instability on long runs.

These changes should make the car easier to manage and more consistent across a race stint.

Liam Lawson especially needs a strong result to prove he deserves a seat long-term.

This is a "please make us fast again" moment. Let’s see if it works

Haas

Upgrades: Major new floor to fight porpoising

Haas have been surprisingly solid in race conditions, but they’ve struggled in qualifying, especially through fast corners.

Why?

Rebound instability.

Basically: the car compresses over bumps or kerbs… and then bounces back too aggressively.

Not quite porpoising, but the same idea 🤷‍♀️

This new floor is designed to calm that movement and keep the car stable at speed.

If your platform is unstable, you can’t push in fast corners.

This upgrade should let drivers attack more in quali and improve one-lap pace.

It could even potentially get them into Q3 on merit 😶

Alpine

Upgrades: Nothing confirmed, but we’re hearing whispers about a floor tweak

Alpine haven’t brought anything major all season.

But they ARE bringing chaos...

They’ve got a rookie in the car (Colapinto), and a new team principal (Oakes is out, Flavio is in)

Wild times, truly 😶

BUT — there are whispers that Gasly’s car miiiight be running a small floor edge change this weekend.

This is probably for data gathering, not really performance.

Their car has been draggy, unpredictable, and just plain bad.

Even a small improvement in floor airflow could help with balance and tyre wear.

More importantly: they need any kind of direction they can get right now.

If they bring nothing, that says a lot. If they bring something (even just on one car) it shows they haven’t totally given up and fallen behind.

Williams

Upgrades: None (officially), but keep your eyes on them anyway

Williams have been upfront: they’re focusing on 2026.

... But that doesn’t mean they aren’t tweaking the current car. They’re just doing it quietly.

There's still a chance we can expect stealthy changes like weight savings, cooling tweaks, maybe even a revised floor edge down the line. Who knows 👀

Ngl, I've been pretty impressed with Williams this season.

They’ve extracted impressive performance from a car that’s barely changed since launch.

I wouldn't be shocked if Albon pulls out another Q2 miracle (even without new parts)

It’s low-key impressive how much they’re doing with so little.

Stake F1 (Sauber)

Upgrades: Floor fence adjustments + cooling tweaks

Sauber’s main issue has been aero instability.

They’ve brought updated floor fences to better channel air underneath the car, increasing ground effect and rear grip.

They’ve also made minor changes to thw engine cover and suspension fairings, likely to manage cooling and airflow over the top of the car more efficiently.

Their rear grip has been poor all year, especially on corner exit.

These changes should give more confidence under braking and throttle.

It’s not flashy, but it’s the kind of tidy, targeted fix that could actually work.

This weekend at Imola is a huge turning point.

We’re going to find out:

• Who’s made real progress

• Who’s just bolting on parts and praying

• And who’s already looking ahead to 2026

If McLaren’s upgrades work? They miiiight run away with it 🫣

If Red Bull’s don’t? They’re in trouble 😔

If Ferrari flop at home? Fs in chat for Tifosi (but let's hope not, they've beeeeen having a tough time, shame)

Whatever happens, the upgrade war is ON.

And I am sooooo ready for this 😎