In Saturday’s Mexican GP qualifying, just 262 thousandths of a second separated Charles Leclerc from Lando Norris. Here’s where the SF-25 lost the crucial tenths, while also highlighting the solid technical foundation Ferrari brings into the race in Mexico City.
The Mexican Grand Prix offered a technically high-level qualifying session, with an unexpected duel between McLaren and Ferrari, giving Max Verstappen and Red Bull more opportunities as they struggled with the altitude at Hermanos Rodriguez. In the end, Lando Norris claimed pole with a masterful 1:15.586 lap, just 262 thousandths faster than Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari SF-25.
It was a minimal margin, but enough to make a difference on a track where aerodynamic compromise, power management, and precision in transitions between slow and medium corners are decisive.
Sector 1 – Power and stability: the perfect starting point for both
The first sector of the Mexican track tests engines and the ability to generate downforce without compromising top speed. On the long main straight, Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc reached the first braking zone almost side by side: the McLaren hitting 344 km/h, the Ferrari nearly 342 km/h, showing very similar aerodynamic setups.
The difference emerged immediately afterward. Norris maintained a steadier throttle through the direction change from Turn 1 to Turn 2, where the MCL39 showed slightly superior stability. His throttle analysis reveals a higher percentage of accelerator applied in the transition, giving a few extra km/h at the apex and improving traction through the 1-2-3 complex.
Charles Leclerc, on the other hand, had to manage a slightly lighter rear under lift. While extremely precise at the front, the SF-25 tends to minor instability in compression, forcing the Monegasque to modulate the throttle more cautiously to avoid losing traction on the inside curb. The result was a +0.15-second delta already by the end of T1.
Though minimal, the difference is significant: in a sector where the throttle is applied over 70% of the time, every small input hesitation magnifies across the following section.
Sector 2 – The technical heart of the track and McLaren’s dominance
While Sector 1 was about balance, Sector 2 is pure mechanical sensitivity. Here, Norris built his pole, exploiting the MCL39’s extraordinary responsiveness from Turn 4 to Turn 11.
Throttle and RPM data show how the British driver could get on the gas earlier exiting Turns 5 and 6. While Charles Leclerc had to maintain 30–40% throttle to control wheelspin, Norris reached 70%, keeping a smooth, linear power delivery. His RPM graph is more stable, with fewer oscillations between 10,000–11,000 revs, indicating optimal traction and a perfectly tuned engine map for these conditions.
Ferrari showed a slight limit in corner entry, a compromise in the aerodynamic setup. Maranello opted for a slightly lower-downforce configuration to optimize straight-line speed and race defense, but this affected mid-speed corner balance, resulting in slower throttle application and slightly less stable transitions.
Between Turns 7 and 9, Norris’s McLaren demonstrates impeccable traction. The release-to-full-throttle transition is faster, creating a delta advantage exceeding +0.4 seconds. This highlights the MCL39’s ability to generate mechanical load through suspension without needing excessive rear wing downforce.
Sector 3 – Ferrari’s response in the slow section
The third sector, around the stadium, tells a different story. Ferrari shines again, showing that the SF-25 remains one of the most balanced low-speed packages on the grid.
Between Turns 13 and 16, the Monegasque driver maximizes rear stability and mechanical traction, recovering part of the gap lost in the central sector. Data shows the delta shrinking to +0.26 seconds approaching the final acceleration, indicating a more manageable car and better engine-to-rear tire connection.
This section is highly sensitive to thermal degradation, and the SF-25 remains particularly gentle on the rear tires. Balanced rear thermal management and effective torque mapping allow Charles Leclerc to exploit hybrid power without wheelspin, a promising sign for race day where Pirelli tire management will be crucial.
Ferrari: what prevented pole
Ultimately, the difference between Norris and Leclerc was not raw speed, but throttle application quality and speed through medium-speed sections. McLaren found the ideal aero-mechanical operating window, while Ferrari, despite excellent slow-speed performance, suffered minor imbalance between front and rear in faster direction changes.
Charles Leclerc extracted maximum performance from the car, but his lap wasn’t as “perfect” as Lando Norris’s: slight traction corrections in Turns 6 and 9 cost fluidity, cumulatively making the difference.
Technically, McLaren likely ran a stiffer front setup and more aggressive brake thermal management, heating the front tires better and achieving a snappier response early in the lap.
Despite missing pole, Ferrari leaves Mexico qualifying with very positive signs. Alongside Leclerc’s P2, Lewis Hamilton’s P3 confirms the SF-25’s strength. The car appeared stable, responsive, and predictable—three qualities previously missing at high-altitude tracks like Mexico City. The team can enter the race confident, with consistent pace and solid tire management.
Norris’s pole was a perfect lap result, but Ferrari is fully competitive and ready to attack. Had the car matched McLaren’s responsiveness in Sector 2 and traction in Sector 3, Saturday could have been entirely red. What matters most is that the SF-25 is fast in every scenario, a sign of a mature project and coherent technical direction.
With P2 and P3 on the grid, Ferrari hopes to fight for victory. Sometimes a mere tenth and a half separates pole from reality, but in Mexico, the reality is that Ferrari is back—and back with conviction, provided there’s no lift-and-coast spoiling their rhythm.
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