Ferrari facing old issues? Charles Leclerc vents frustration over bouncing in F1 Brazil Sprint. Charles Leclerc highlights Ferrari setup problems and persistent bouncing.

The Brazil GP Sprint, round 21 of the 2025 F1 season, was contested in mixed conditions: clear skies but still damp asphalt. These tricky circumstances created the perfect scenario for a race that, in hindsight, may have decisively shaped the championship. Lando Norris, winning the short race in São Paulo, extended his points lead over teammate Oscar Piastri, who made another costly mistake on the damp surface and crashed into the wall.

Long straights and a few surprises

The conditions favored Lando Norris, allowing him to extend his championship gap to eight points, also helped by Max Verstappen, who once again failed to make an impact at Interlagos, finishing the Sprint in fourth place behind the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, a strong second, and George Russell in third. The two Ferraris were further back, with Charles Leclerc only fifth—after losing significant time behind Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin, slower in pace but difficult to overtake on the long straights of the José Carlos Pace Circuit—and Lewis Hamilton finishing no higher than seventh, despite a strong start where he gained three positions in a single corner from eleventh on the grid due to a disappointing Sprint qualifying.

Old problems resurface?

Charles Leclerc’s race highlighted significant Ferrari setup issues, as the SF-25 was not particularly easy to drive for either driver. The car was overly aerodynamically loaded and slow on the straights, costing both drivers valuable time when trying to pass slower cars. Moreover, listening to Leclerc’s team radio, it appears some previously resolved issues have returned, such as the persistent bouncing. Charles Leclerc described it as “crazy” on the radio, adding that he would try to be patient and attempt an attack at the end of the race, as it was impossible at the moment.

These words, combined with what was visible on track, suggest that Ferrari engineers will need to reconsider their setup choices and, if possible, implement corrections—keeping in mind the many weather uncertainties ahead of the main race.