Ferrari starts the 2025 Formula 1 season in the worst possible way. The Australian Grand Prix, the opening round of the F1 World Championship, began on Friday with an illusion: Ferrari seemed to be at the level of McLaren. But the dream of a red dawn had already partially faded on Friday, when tire pressure issues and adverse weather conditions put both Italian cars in serious difficulty.
The Maranello team did not express its potential, but the alarm bell must be sounded nonetheless. Moreover, when things could have been corrected, the tire change from slicks to wets in the second part of the race at the 5.278-kilometre Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne was made with wrong timing. A wrong strategy, trying luck like a roulette spin, without properly reflecting on the possible consequences.
McLaren, as well as Red Bull and Mercedes, appeared significantly better in wet conditions, setting a faster pace in the first stint. The papaya-colored cars maintained a pace around 1.5 seconds faster than Charles Leclerc. Only Max Verstappen, in the first seven laps after the restart, managed to keep pace with the MCL39 single-seaters, then losing second place to Oscar Piastri due to a mistake.
The Dutch driver could no longer stabilize tire temperature due to the lack of water on track, losing over a second per lap in the middle part of the stint. Charles Leclerc’s pace was far from constant, showing a general lack of confidence in the car. The SF-25 was unstable. The Ferrari drivers were forced to make many corrections with the steering wheel, almost constantly delaying throttle input on the exit.
The Monegasque driver spent the first part of the race behind George Russell, but with a constantly slower pace. The Englishman made a difference particularly in the third sector, where the Maranello cars struggled throughout the Australian Grand Prix weekend. George Russell benefited from better traction out of the penultimate corner and the ability to carry more speed in the fast section of corners 10 and 11.
Lewis Hamilton complicated his race at the start, when in order to avoid the collision with his Maranello teammate, he had to give up his position to Alex Albon. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion had more pace than the Williams driver, but the lack of push from his Ferrari’s traction before the final straight never allowed him to attempt an overtaking maneuver. In conversation with his race engineer Riccardo Adami, the Englishman tried different hybrid strategies, but these attempts were in vain due to the excessive distance from the Thai driver.
In the first stint, the McLaren duo made the biggest difference in the third sector, the most cornered one, where a good balance is crucial to tackle the turns. In the third sector, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri could brake later than their rivals while still getting good traction on the exit. The MCL39 showed very little understeer when entering, always reaching the apex of the corner with ease.
On the exit, the rear-end roll and the camber gain of the tires provided excellent grip. Also, thanks to Oscar Piastri’s slipstream, Max Verstappen was the fastest in the straights, using aerodynamic efficiency to stay close to the two English cars. The Red Bull driver was quite conservative on the braking phase to maintain good traction and try to stay in the slipstream of the papaya-colored cars.
To complete the analysis, let’s focus on the final part of the Australian Grand Prix. The Safety Car and the rain, which came only two laps after switching to slicks, did not allow for significant data to be gathered. In the final laps with intermediates, Max Verstappen was slightly faster than Lando Norris. With less fuel, he suffered less from traction. The Dutchman matched the Briton in corners while gaining ground in the straights.
Oscar Piastri and the two Ferrari cars, on the other hand, were slowed down by the slower cars in the midfield, losing almost two seconds per lap. The Mercedes duo placed immediately behind the leading group in terms of performance, bringing home the most points in the team standings. An excellent performance from Kimi Antonelli, who managed to rise from sixteenth to fourth.
The Italian showed great skill in the rain, bringing the car home without a scratch. Kimi Antonelli was patient in the first part of the race, trying to understand how the car behaved under extreme conditions. Putting aside the spin in the escape road of turn 4, the Italian driver’s race was virtually flawless, accompanied by excellent pit strategy from Mercedes.
Ferrari needs to lick its wounds after the disastrous Formula 1 weekend to Australia. The Maranello team has (theoretically) understood how to make the car work, as demonstrated on Friday. The problem is that they still have not found the right setup for qualifying and the race. In a few hours, we will be back in the preview of the race week in Shanghai, where we will get a clearer picture of the aerodynamic work of the SF-25 ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix. The bar set by McLaren is extremely high, and for Ferrari it is now essential to react.
— see video above —
Leave a Reply