Ferrari flies to Miami for the sixth round of the 2025 F1 World Championship. The Florida Grand Prix will remain on the calendar until 2041, with a renewal announced just before the start of the first and only practice session of the weekend. This American weekend marks the second Sprint Race of the season, providing another opportunity to score points and shake things up, much like Ferrari did in Shanghai with Hamilton’s victory.
FP1, first laps on dirty asphalt
The Maranello team didn’t bring any significant updates to the SF-25, unlike Red Bull, who introduced a new floor on Max Verstappen‘s car, who has recently become a father – congratulations! Ferrari prefers to wait for a traditional weekend to carry out comparative tests and have three practice sessions available, a decision identical to the one made last season.
The session begins with both Ferrari cars leaving the pits, both equipped with Medium tires. The focus is primarily on warming up the tires. The first lap is rather conservative, as the still-dirty asphalt provides little grip, prompting the drivers to take a cautious approach. The choice of the yellow compound serves to maintain continuity in the work and to check the car’s balance.
Charles Leclerc completes a neat lap, while Hamilton has to make a slight correction in the second sector. On the next lap, pushing harder, Charles Leclerc loses the front end entering turn 11 and must regain control to avoid spinning; at turn 17, he misses the apex and doesn’t close the trajectory well. Overall, he reports a lack of confidence in the slower sections, signaling limited grip.
Hamilton appears cleaner in his driving, and with greater precision, he manages to be slightly faster than his teammate. On the following lap, Charles Leclerc improves his driving, showing more stability in the front end, especially in turn 17. The British driver also seems more in sync with the car, though still struggling with braking, optimizing his brake shaping.
Ferrari: mechanical grip not optimized in low-speed corners
The two Ferrari cars complete two more fast laps, interspersed with a couple of cooling laps, concluding the first stint. The overall balance seems acceptable, though the usual problems emerge: a lack of rotation complicates the entry into some corners. However, in the fast direction changes of the first sector, the car looks fairly stable, with an acceptable balance between the front and rear axles.
The difficulties increase in the slower, more technical sections, where the drivers need to work harder on the steering wheel to make the car rotate. In particular, Charles Leclerc notices small adjustments on entry, a clear sign that mechanical grip at low speeds is still insufficient. This forces both drivers to compensate for the lack of grip to maintain the ideal racing line.
To improve performance, during the pit stop, the mechanics adjust the setup of both cars, focusing on ride height and the stiffness of the front and rear suspension. The goal is clear: more grip and stability, especially in critical sections. Leclerc returns to the track immediately, having completed one less lap in the first stint, and prepares for a controlled outlap before starting his new fast lap.
Looking at his driving, the front end appears more responsive in slow corners, with greater ease in attacking the curbs, including the final corner. The adjustments to the stiffness seem to have improved the car’s entry without compromising stability in direction changes. However, the performance still needs optimization in the first sector, where the tires struggle to reach the right temperature window quickly.
Race pace testing
In the final phase of FP1, Ferrari focuses on simulating race pace, loading both cars with a high amount of fuel. For this session, they opt for Medium tires, continuing the data collection process started in previous runs. Even the laps following setup modifications are completed with a heavy fuel load, with the main goal being to evaluate the car’s behavior under realistic race conditions rather than chasing the best lap time.
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