While Ferrari continues its search for the hidden potential of the SF-25, their rivals are improving. McLaren, Red Bull, and Mercedes have now been joined by Williams, with Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz managing to finish qualifying ahead of Charles Leclerc. The worst qualifying session of the season was expected, with Hamilton’s third-place finish in the Sprint coming thanks to a brilliant call by Lewis to switch from intermediate tires to slicks, but race pace was far from podium contention.
What happened at the Miami International Circuit? Frederic Vasseur explained that, compared to Max Verstappen, who was the benchmark that day, Ferrari lost four-tenths in the first corners and a tenth in the rest of the lap. He noted that the team was clearly not in a good position in that section of the track, possibly due to tire preparation, and emphasized the need to understand what they were doing wrong because something was certainly amiss. Vasseur also reminded everyone that the SF-25 had been very fast in the race at Jeddah, once again affirming his view that the car had more potential, but they were currently unable to unlock it.
Charles Leclerc had long since lost confidence in this belief, and Hamilton seemed to align with his teammate after yesterday’s qualifying. Lewis said that they were overtaken by Williams, and he praised James Vowles and his team for doing an extraordinary job. He acknowledged that they were where they were and needed updates, progress, and many improvements. So far, the SF-25 had always suffered from one particular issue, and in Miami, it appeared in the first two corners, along with a mysterious problem that led both Lewis and Charles to set their best times on used tires. The most likely explanation is that Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were dealing with overheating tires on new rubber, a phenomenon that diminishes when the used tires stabilize after a cooling lap.
However, after six races, it is reasonable to suggest that the challenges faced by the SF-25 so far fit into a larger picture, one in which the car clearly has some objective limitations. By working on the setup, they are addressing certain shortcomings, but this often brings out other issues. Then, as in Jeddah, the car can show good race pace under certain conditions, but more than a solid foundation to solve other issues, it seems like the classic case of a broken clock that shows the right time twice a day. Hamilton admitted that the car felt “simply different” every time they left the pits, confirming the short blanket that Ferrari’s engineers were dealing with.
Returning to Miami qualifying, Leclerc was very clear. He said they didn’t have the pace or grip of their competitors, and a track like this made their weaknesses even more apparent. He stated that 8th place was not the result they wanted as a team, and they had a lot of work ahead of them. This work seems increasingly focused on Ferrari’s Racing Division in Maranello, with the hope that they can implement corrective measures to resolve or at least mitigate the issues with the SF-25 project.
It may seem strange, but in yesterday’s qualifying session, a small encouraging detail emerged for Lewis Hamilton. While it is true that Lewis did not make it past Q2, the gap to Leclerc at the end of the session was just 58 thousandths. However, Charles Leclerc was fortunate to get a perfect tow from Norris on the long straight leading to the braking zone of Turn 17, a “bonus” worth two-tenths (Leclerc’s third sector ended up being the fastest overall in qualifying), without which even Ferrari number 16 would have been eliminated from Q3.
