Ferrari looks competitive despite Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton incidents

For Ferrari, an important weekend begins: the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix. The Maranello team, after two consecutive podiums in Monaco and the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, both achieved by Charles Leclerc, is called upon to silence with results the recent rumors suggesting that team principal Frederic Vasseur could be out at the end of the 2025 Formula 1 season. Both drivers have defended the French manager’s work and want to close ranks by trying to give their maximum.

The SF-25 single-seater has performed decently in recent outings, at least in terms of race pace, but the performance is still far from the expectations at the start of the season. For this reason, Frederic Vasseur’s name has been widely discussed, as has that of the Monegasque driver, who wanted to deny any rumors of a possible departure, once again professing his eternal love for the Prancing Horse.

Let’s now take a detailed look at how events unfolded for Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in the first free practice session at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal:

The Ferrari drivers are in their cars and, after the usual pre-session checks, leave the pit lane to begin their first run on the Canadian circuit. Both SF-25 cars are fitted with red compound Pirelli tires for this initial phase. The gearbox is set to the GX3 mapping, designed to allow fast but not overly aggressive gear changes. Lewis Hamilton immediately goes on the attack against the stopwatch, while Charles Leclerc opts for a preparation lap to bring the C6 tires up to temperature.

The first laps are cautious, with the drivers assessing the track conditions, made even trickier by the traffic on the circuit. Ferrari displays its usual traits: slight understeer on corner entry and a lackluster response in the slower direction changes. While Lewis Hamilton seems to struggle to keep the tires in the optimal window, his Maranello teammate appears more effective in temperature management, especially on the tire surface.

In the first two sectors, Charles Leclerc still can’t find ideal grip, but in the third sector, he is already among the fastest. It remains to be seen whether this is due to the chosen setup or simply a delay in tire activation. His sector times steadily improve in the following laps between the first and second sectors, indicating that it was more a matter of confidence and adapting to the track, combined with a more progressive use of the compounds.

However, everything comes to a halt due to an incident involving Charles Leclerc, who locks up his front right in Turn 3. The Monegasque goes onto the grass, can’t steer the car, and hits the inside wall with the front left, also damaging the rear left, thus destroying most of the left side of his SF-25. Red flag, and session over for the 27-year-old driver.

Charles Leclerc makes a simple mistake, a lapse in concentration that penalizes him heavily just as he was gaining more confidence with the car. A real shame, considering the progress shown. About ten minutes later, the session resumes, and Lewis Hamilton immediately returns to the track with another set of Soft tires. After not even a full lap, the Briton also loses control of his car: under braking at Turn 10, the rear end steps out and he spins, fortunately without damage.

He returns to the pits to mount a new set of tires. Overall, Ferrari’s traction seems solid, but it is clear that handling still needs fine-tuning. The lack of rotation continues to be a weakness, the same one that led Charles Leclerc to the mistake and the crash into the barriers. Compared to his Maranello teammate, the Briton still needs to find the right feeling with the car, but at least he didn’t crash.

Upon his return to the track, Lewis Hamilton shows no clear improvement in lap times. He also reports an issue with the delta on the steering wheel and receives instructions from the pit wall to change his approach to Turns 3 and 10: enter more slowly to gain better exit acceleration. In the final phase of the session, the team focuses on a race pace simulation with a high fuel load, essential for analyzing tire behavior under more realistic conditions.

The simulation consists of 11 consecutive laps, during which the SF-25 appears generally stable but still slightly uncertain on corner entry. The lap times remain fairly consistent, with a fast opening lap in 1.16.9, followed by laps in the low 1.17s. In summary, the potential is there, but more work is needed on the balance front. The goal is to find a setup that allows the car to maximize performance by better managing both understeer and oversteer, making the car more responsive and competitive.