Ferrari SF-25 struggles in Suzuka second sector with imperfect setup: Japan GP practice review. Ferrari struggles with understeer and setup issues during FP2 of the Japanese GP.

The first day of free practice session for the 2025 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix concludes with the best time set by Oscar Piastri in 1.28.114. The first session went smoothly without any interruptions, with Lando Norris ahead of George Russell and the two Ferrari SF-25 cars of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, who were four and five-tenths behind the McLaren driver’s best lap time. Following them were the two Red Bull RB21 cars of Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda, with the Japanese driver making his debut with the Milton Keynes team at his home circuit.

As it turned out, the first free practice session in Japan was the only opportunity for long runs on Friday. Ferrari arrives at the 5.807-kilometre Suzuka Circuit without updates, but the Maranello team has worked intensely on the simulator and now wants to test the configurations studied. In the first run, on medium tires, both cars showed good baseline balance, with solid performance in the first sector, although slightly delayed in direction changes compared to the McLaren MCL39 cars.

In the second sector, the gap increases, especially at Turn 11, where the SF-25 single-seater struggles to close the line properly due to slight understeer. The cars are also not perfectly set up in Turns 13 and 14, but they recover in the final sector thanks to a lower aerodynamic load compared to McLaren. Returning to the track with soft tires, both cars maintain the same behavior, with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc attempting to correct the understeer through front-wing adjustments, although optimal tire activation remains uncertain.

In the final phase of the first free practice session, the Maranello team focuses on race simulations with full fuel tanks. The times remain constant without evident degradation, but understeer continues to hinder the seven-time Formula 1 world champion, who at this stage seems to be struggling more than his Maranello teammate. The Italian side works on brake balance and differential settings in order to improve rotation, while the Briton suffers from rear-end sliding. In the end, Charles Leclerc slows down while Lewis Hamilton improves his pace, indicating different strategies in tire management. The SF-25 proves competitive, but more work is needed to reduce understeer and maximize the car’s potential.

On the other hand, the second free practice session starts with a serious crash caused by Jack Doohan: the Alpine driver, at the beginning of the fifth lap of his first run, violently hit the barriers at Turn 1, at a very high speed while fully throttling. It is likely, though unverified, that the drag reduction system did not close, and anyone familiar with Suzuka knows that this can mean becoming a passenger in the car. After a visit to the medical center and visibly shaken, the Australian returned to the pits.

In a session marked by three more interruptions, one due to a rookie mistake by Fernando Alonso, the other two because the grass caught fire from sparks, Oscar Piastri set the fastest time ahead of Lando Norris, who was just 49 thousandths behind. In third place was a surprising Isack Hadjar, with the Racing Bulls proving to be very competitive in qualifying trim, as shown by the sixth fastest time from a revived Liam Lawson.

It is also worth pointing out that Lewis Hamilton felt more comfortable than his Maranello teammate in this second free practice session at the Suzuka circuit. Both Ferrari SF-25 cars took to the track at the start of FP2 on Hard tires to assess setup changes and reduce understeer. After the warm-up lap, they switched to push mode. Lewis Hamilton lifted off in the first sector, while Charles Leclerc completed the lap, showing difficulties at Turn 11 with a mark left on the asphalt. In the next lap, the seven-time Formula 1 world champion improved thanks to optimal tire temperatures, while the Monegasque struggled in Turns 1-4 and had to manage the risk of tire overheating.

Charles Leclerc was improving on his next attempt, but the red flag caused by Jack Doohan interrupted his lap. Turn 11 proved to be critical: braking with a certain steering angle and a banking that pushes towards the outside made it difficult to hit the apex, even for McLaren. After a 15-minute stop, they restarted with Hard tires. The British driver made another mistake, again at Turn 11, clearly a critical point for the SF-25 car, suffering from understeer on entry and too much rotation on exit. Charles Leclerc was cleaner but slower, blocked by traffic at Spoon.

Fernando Alonso’s interruption further hindered the possibility of collecting relevant data in the second free practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix. After the restart, on Soft tires, Ferrari’s issues persisted, especially at the slow hairpin in the middle sector, where Lewis Hamilton adjusted his entry while Charles Leclerc was more precise but slower. The Briton also needed to improve at Turn 1, where he did not fully close the line. Despite everything, he was quicker than his Ferrari teammate, who still seemed to struggle with the SF-25. To cool the tires and optimize tire management, both drivers completed two cool-down laps before finishing the session.

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