Formula 1 arrives in Europe for the seventh round of the 2025 World Championship, which takes place at the 4.909-kilometre Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari. All eyes are on Ferrari, which in its home race must try to reverse a course that is currently leading it into troubled and murky waters. The first quarter of the Formula 1 season is in the books, and with only one podium in Jeddah and a Sprint victory in China, that is certainly not enough for the ambitions held in Maranello over the winter period.
The weekend by the Santerno River did not start in the best possible way for Charles Leclerc, who had to miss media day due to illness. There was even slight concern about the Monegasque driver ahead of today’s free practice, enough to put Antonio Giovinazzi on alert, but the Ferrari driver was ready to get in the car for the first free practice session for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix alongside his Maranello teammate, Lewis Hamilton.
So let’s take a detailed look at how events unfolded for Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in FP1 at Imola. For the first stint, both Ferrari SF-25 cars immediately fitted the Soft C6 tyres, making their F1 debut. The goal is to collect useful data, beginning with a warm-up lap without pushing the pace. Constant-speed passes are also performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the new rear aerodynamic configuration, which includes minimal but significant changes to the rear wing and beam wing.
On the first timed lap, a rather conservative approach emerges, useful for evaluating setup and track conditions. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton deliberately avoid the kerbs in the more technical corners of the second and third sectors. After a cool-down lap, they begin to push again. It is too early to draw conclusions, but the car’s general behavior is very similar to what has been seen in previous weekends.
Gradually, the drivers begin to find a better feeling with the SF-25, which now gets closer to the kerbs, though it still behaves nervously in direction changes. Both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton abort their final attempt due to mistakes made between turns 6 and 9.
The seven-time Formula 1 world champion appears more precise behind the wheel, while Charles Leclerc uses the lap to explore the car’s limits in view of possible adjustments. It is a learning phase, where they are trying to adapt driving style to the car’s reactions. The Monegasque driver reports some imprecision at the front end, while the garage technicians intervene for initial fine-tuning.
The Maranello team is focusing on optimizing rear stiffness to reduce the car’s tendency to lose grip. During his final lap, Charles Leclerc complained about excessive lift in turn 1: at first it seemed related to hybrid mapping, but in reality the discomfort was caused by his helmet lifting too much. Onboard footage clearly shows him trying to push it back down with his hands.
On the technical side, the preset brake configuration in turn 1 has been revised to limit minor lock-ups. The Ferrari SF-25 cars return to the track on the same used Soft tires, and Charles Leclerc adopts a more aggressive approach, although he still struggles with an unstable car. The first sector data is striking, with car number 16 among the slowest, losing significant ground. It is clear that intervention is needed here, likely related to tyre management on the push lap.
After a quick pit stop, the Ferrari cars return to the track with a new set of Softs. The car appears slightly more precise than in the previous attempt, but difficulties with corner entry and rotation remain evident. At this stage, Lewis Hamilton feels more at ease behind the wheel, managing to extract a bit more from the car. Charles Leclerc continues to struggle in turns 1, 2 and 12, while in direction changes, such as at the Variante Villeneuve, the SF-25 looks unresponsive.
A clear example comes at the Variante Alta, where the comparison with McLaren shows how much more nervous and unsettled the Ferrari is. Even if not dramatic, the lack of composure results in about a tenth lost. Charles Leclerc slightly improves in the first sector but loses ground in the second. Another pit stop follows to refuel the car in preparation for a short race pace simulation. It remains to be seen which compound will be chosen for this test.
In terms of race pace, Lewis Hamilton shows a fairly solid balance, while Charles Leclerc continues to struggle. Ferrari suffers from a lack of aerodynamic load, with suboptimal grip and evident difficulties in corner rotation. The transition from understeer to oversteer is particularly tricky. Two minutes from the end, Gabriel Bortoleto crashes, bringing out a red flag; fortunately, the Brazilian driver is okay.
Wrapping up this initial evaluation phase, the issues already seen in previous weekends are largely confirmed. Until significant aerodynamic updates are introduced by the Maranello engineers and technicians, Ferrari’s trajectory seems likely to remain unchanged. Attention now shifts to the second free practice session, in the hope that some adjustments might improve the overall balance and allow the SF-25 to show more of its potential.
— see video above —
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