Charles Leclerc’s impressive and well-earned podium finish during the Formula 1 weekend at Spa-Francorchamps provided Ferrari with an additional strong injection of confidence at a very crucial and decisive point in the 2025 racing season. The latest technical upgrades introduced between the Austrian Grand Prix and the Belgian Grand Prix—specifically the redesigned floor and the updated suspension system—are expected to enable the Ferrari SF-25 to consistently fight for podium positions and strong finishes throughout the remainder of the Formula 1 season. It is also important to note that this particular weekend marks the first Formula 1 race weekend following the renewal of Frederic Vasseur’s multi-year contract as Ferrari’s team principal, the key figure in the Maranello team’s management.
A start marked by numerous “clicks” in setup adjustments
So let’s take a detailed look at how events unfolded for Ferrari in FP1: both SF-25 cars began their on-track work equipped with Medium compound tires, which are considered ideal for carefully assessing the car’s overall balance and performance over longer stints, allowing for more consistent evaluation of tire behavior and car stability. Early laps completed by Lewis Hamilton revealed an oversteer issue on corner exit, a handling characteristic that has been previously noted during this 2025 Formula 1 season. However, given that the track surface conditions and tire behavior were still in relatively immature or developing states during the initial laps, the team advised caution when drawing definitive conclusions. After his initial flying lap attempt, Lewis Hamilton eased his pace for two laps dedicated to tire cooldown, while Charles Leclerc prepared to push hard on his flying lap.
The Briton immediately requested an adjustment to the front aerodynamic load, receiving three clicks of increased front downforce in order to seek a more balanced and responsive handling characteristic. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc’s flying lap was interrupted due to traffic on track, prompting him to request a similar but more aggressive setup change—specifically six clicks of increased front downforce. Both drivers returned to the circuit with the objective of adapting their feel and confidence with the tires, optimizing grip management and car balance through every corner of the Hungaroring circuit.
The Ferrari engineering team provided precise and detailed feedback: race engineer Riccardo Adami informed Lewis Hamilton that he was losing most of his time compared to the McLaren drivers in turns 8 and 9, while race engineer Bryan Bozzi pointed out to Charles Leclerc that his braking performance in turn 12 was too weak and needed improvement. Once back in race mode, the Ferrari drivers resumed pushing hard. The Monegasque driver approached the curbs at turns 2 and 5 with increased precision and confidence, whereas his teammate complained about a bothersome understeer issue that was penalizing him across almost the entire Budapest circuit layout.
An additional front-end aerodynamic adjustment was made for Lewis Hamilton: four more clicks of front downforce were added to try to correct the significant lack of rotation and responsiveness he had experienced during his first two attempts. In contrast, Charles Leclerc appeared noticeably more comfortable behind the wheel of the SF-25, managing the car’s balance much more effectively. It is worth noting that certain corners at the Hungaroring naturally tend to generate understeer, and during this phase the Ferrari pit wall provided intense and continuous assistance to the drivers.
Instability in slower corners affects performance
The feedback provided by the engineers covered multiple important aspects of driving technique and car setup, including differential settings both on corner entry and mid-corner, as well as brake system mappings and brake bias adjustments. After a cooldown lap to allow the tires to cool down, both drivers returned to work on car handling in the following laps. It remained evident that maintaining the optimal operating window for the tires was not straightforward or easy. Initial impressions were encouraging and promising, but further setup precision and refinement would be necessary to maximize the SF-25’s performance.
On the fourth flying lap of the first stint, Charles Leclerc completed a solid and competitive effort, managing to take the top spot on the timing sheets. However, in the final corners of the third sector, he lost a few tenths of a second on the stopwatch. The SF-25 displayed some instability in the slower sections of the track, where traction was noticeably less effective than initially expected. Slight tire overheating was also observed in the final stretch of the circuit, which caused a consequent loss of grip and performance.
Leclerc two tenths off the best flying lap time
Both Ferrari SF-25 cars returned to the track fitted with Soft compound tires to begin qualifying simulations. The activation and warm-up behavior of the softer tires was different compared to previous runs, and it would be particularly useful to observe how the SF-25 manages its tendency to heat the front and rear tires unevenly, a still critical and sensitive aspect of the car’s tire management. The softer tires offer significantly more grip, but Charles Leclerc was not fully satisfied with his lap attempt, considering it to be improvable and capable of further enhancement.
The Monegasque driver identified turn 1 as the main weak point of his lap, despite having improved his passage through the penultimate corner. However, there remained a clear and noticeable oversteer issue in the last corner, especially in the mid-corner phase. The tires during the first sector had not yet reached their optimal operating window, and minor lockups were recorded in turn 6. Charles asked what setup settings Lewis Hamilton was using, as the British driver had been more effective through the first corner but still complained about the car’s lack of responsiveness. In response, Charles received an additional adjustment to the front aerodynamic load.
After two laps spent cooling down the tires, the two Ferrari drivers returned to the track. Several changes to the car’s balance and the tire warm-up phase allowed Charles Leclerc to significantly improve his lap time, lowering it by more than six tenths of a second. The performance was encouraging and promising, but there were still some details and aspects to refine in order to get closer to the benchmark set by the McLaren team.
Lewis Hamilton also managed to find improvement in his own flying lap thanks to a revised setup, but his confidence with the SF-25 car remained noticeably lower than that of Charles Leclerc. The British driver still struggled to compensate for the SF-25’s lack of rotation and responsiveness, and additionally, the tires did not seem to operate within their ideal performance window. Both drivers then returned to the pits, with the second stint confirming a good technical potential for the SF-25, although there was still room for further refinement and improvement.
SF-25 performs well in race simulation
In the final phase of the first practice session, Ferrari simulated race pace with a high fuel load. Both SF-25 cars ran on Medium compound tires to collect useful data on the thermal behavior and degradation of the tires under race conditions. On a circuit like the Hungaroring, where the track surface temperature strongly affects tire grip and performance, effective management of traction and tire wear becomes absolutely crucial for maintaining competitiveness during the race.
During this race simulation test, Charles Leclerc demonstrated a good level of consistency: he opened with a 1.21.0 lap time before settling into three consecutive laps at 1.20.9. Only in the last two laps of the run did the pace drop slightly by a couple of tenths of a second. Lewis Hamilton, who had started the stint more cautiously, then aligned his lap times closely with those of his teammate. The timing screens returned values that were very close to those of the McLaren cars, which is an encouraging and positive sign ahead of the upcoming practice and qualifying sessions.
Overall, Ferrari began the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend with a solid and promising technical base. There remains room for improvement, but the understeer that had negatively affected the early phases of the session was partially contained and reduced over time. The initial feedback and performance data point in the right direction, although it will be absolutely essential for the team to confirm and consolidate this progress during the remaining practice sessions in preparation for qualifying and the race.
— see video above —
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