Because, in the end, it is about understanding—or being understood. Round 6 of the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship, and it’s time to compare the comments coming from within Ferrari after the disappointing qualifying session in Miami, with Charles Leclerc will start 8th and Lewis Hamilton 12th.
Starting with team principal Frederic Vasseur, he explained that the team had struggled to put the lap together and to make the most of the new tyres. The French said something was missing on fresh rubber, noting that four of the five tenths they lost came in the first two corners. According to him, there was clearly something they were doing wrong, and the team needed to understand what it was. As for upgrades, Frederic Vasseur pointed out that in Jeddah the SF-25 had been the fastest car in the race, and so it was a matter of extracting its potential. The former Alfa Romeo team boss insisted the team needed to analyze all the data, as they were not currently using the full potential of the car and had failed to find the right balance, especially in qualifying laps. However, the Frenchman remained confident that race pace would be better, despite the fact that he admitted it would not be easy to exploit that given their starting positions in the midfield.
Charles Leclerc said he had placed a lot of hope in this qualifying session to recover and do something special, but unfortunately—even though his lap was very good—the car simply lacked performance. He admitted it hurt, especially losing half a second on such a short track, which for him highlighted the team’s weaknesses. He acknowledged that he was lucky to make it into Q3, but underlined how difficult things were. As for updates, he made it clear that they were needed, stating bluntly that it was really tough like this. After his lap, he said he felt he couldn’t have done any better.
Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, stated that they were doing their best not to make major setup changes, but whatever they tried, the car remained inconsistent every time it hit the track. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion mentioned issues with the brakes, with the car’s sensitivity, and generally with a lack of speed. He described the operating window as almost impossible to identify. Although they were trying their best, the Briton said even their best didn’t seem to be enough. He added that he would keep pushing, return to the factory the following week, and continue working.
Following the line of reasoning offered by the key figures involved, it seems the SF-25 does have potential—but the drivers have made it clear they are already pushing to the limit and cannot extract more. In the Miami qualifying session, the gap between Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton was just 0.058 seconds. They are openly speaking of a lack of performance and a car that simply is not fast.
If the car truly has potential, as Frederic Vasseur claims, then it is only fair to ask what, or who, is missing. The drivers? The Maranello engineers setting up the car? Frederic Vasseur has been repeating like a mantra for weeks that Ferrari’s weak point is the performance in the qualifying session, and that the Maranello team must focus on itself to improve its Saturdays. But after six races, the fans deserve a clear answer: who is getting it wrong? Because the suspicion is growing that the SF-25, as it stands, without aerodynamic updates, may have structural limitations, as we have also pointed out in the last few weeks.
