F1 Dutch GP FP3: Ferrari Faces Serious Technical Struggles at Zandvoort

The focus in the Dutch Grand Prix is squarely on Ferrari, which faced multiple difficulties yesterday, especially during the first session. In the afternoon, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc managed to recover somewhat, halving the huge gap experienced in the morning, but being eight and nine tenths of a second behind Lando Norris is still a significant deficit. Charles Leclerc mentioned a couple of corners that are particularly challenging for the SF-25, while seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton appeared slightly more optimistic. Now let’s take a detailed look at how events unfolded for the Maranello team in the final free practice session:

Corners 9 and 10 remain critical

The Ferrari drivers prepared to go out on track, but the team chose to wait for the most opportune moments. The circuit was still “green,” and the Scuderia preferred to bide its time. About ten minutes into the session, Lewis Hamilton left the pit lane on new Hard tires, ready for his first lap of the day.

The British driver completed the out-lap without pushing, avoiding unnecessary stress on the tires. However, this was just an installation lap: he returned to the pits immediately without completing a timed lap. Shortly afterward, Charles Leclerc did the same with the Hard tires, checking the track conditions before returning to the garage. Only ten minutes later did the Ferraris begin their real on-track work.

The program involved using Medium tires to evaluate setup changes. After a preparation lap, both drivers attempted an initial push, though not very aggressive. Even so, a certain tendency toward understeer was evident—a problem that has persisted since the start of the weekend. This was followed by a tire cooldown phase, while Hamilton discussed hybrid system management over the radio to optimize energy deployment.

The second attempt was more aggressive and revealed new challenges. Corner 10 remained the most critical point, showing clear rotational limitations. Corner 9 also affected lap time, costing approximately two-tenths, while the chicane at corners 11-12 showed slightly better signs. Overall performance of the Italian cars remained distant from the leaders, and Charles Leclerc complained over the radio about traffic, calling it “crazy.”

Second run shows improvement, but still insufficient

A suspension setup adjustment allowed Charles Leclerc to return to the track for further testing. Ferrari continued to work on fine-tuning the SF-25, and despite using older tires, the Monegasque driver found improved grip. This enabled him to lower his lap time by four-tenths, getting closer to Lewis Hamilton’s reference times. It remains unclear how much of this improvement came from tire management.

The key issue revolves around tire activation and reaching the correct temperature window. Over the radio, engineer Alessandro Bozzi provided guidance to Charles on racing lines and corner balance to maximize overall performance. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton returned to action, but his lap was affected by traffic and minor errors. Shortly afterward, both Ferraris returned to the pits.

Both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc seemed to make a solid step forward, but it was still not enough to be fully satisfied. McLaren remains untouchable, as demonstrated by Lando Norris‘s astonishing lap times, beating last year’s pole by eight-tenths. The final attempt on Soft tires awaited, with just ten minutes remaining in FP3.

Ferrari faces daunting gap

The extra grip provided by the softer compounds could give Ferrari some margin to mask weaknesses and reduce the gap to the leaders. The last attempt on Soft tires was therefore a crucial session that required precise execution. The team carefully managed track position to avoid traffic. Charles Leclerc was the first out, and although his lap was orderly for the most part, it showed excessive rotation in the third sector and unremarkable times in every sector.

Lewis Hamilton faced similar challenges, with a car that appeared even more nervous than his teammate’s. Over the radio, the English driver highlighted the poor preparation for the flying lap, directly affecting performance. The stopwatch mercilessly showed a 1.4-second gap to Lando Norris, a significant deficit exposing the limits of the package. For Charles Leclerc, who managed the lap slightly better, the gap remained close to a full second.

After a brief tire cooldown, the drivers returned to the track, but the situation did not improve. The SF-25 continued to suffer from understeer and instability in key points of the circuit, failing to fully exploit the potential of the Soft tires. A complex scenario that raises questions ahead of the weekend’s most significant session: qualifying.