Ferrari strong on corner exit but struggles under braking: more balance needed

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc showed contrasting reactions on Friday, each more comfortable in different sessions. Friday at Imola also gave us the first real opportunity to analyze the performance of the cars on the historic Italian circuit. In this second part, we focus on the telemetry analysis comparison between Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri, who set the fastest time in FP2.

Ferrari’s tough compromise
As expected, the Ferrari was not free from issues on the single lap. The track’s characteristics—twisty, with many medium-low speed corners and high, aggressive kerbs—although better suited to the Italian car than other circuits, still exposed the usual flaws of the SF-25. At Imola, a softer setup is required, both at the front and rear.

This is necessary to effectively absorb the undulations and kerb jumps, improving stability to prevent floor damage or loss of grip. However, Ferrari’s design philosophy imposes structural limitations: the car still struggles to generate enough aerodynamic load. On one hand, the fact that everyone is forced to run higher helps to reduce the impact of Ferrari’s ride height issues.

On the other hand, it doesn’t provide the level of downforce that, for example, Red Bull and McLaren still manage to generate. The Italian car must be stiffened to be more precise and to prevent fluid intrusion under the floor. But as mentioned, at Imola this can only be done to a certain extent. This creates a clear technical deadlock: either aerodynamic stability is gained or mechanical performance over kerbs is sacrificed.

Setup changes were clear to see
Between the two free practice sessions, the Italian team clearly made a step forward in terms of drivability, thanks to a general revision of the suspension setup. Leclerc himself, after the first two laps, said over the radio that he felt better in the car after the changes. The data confirms this: he was able to attack the kerbs more easily compared to the morning, without unsettling the car too much.

However, it’s not enough to match the MCL39. Preliminary telemetry analysis shows, firstly, that the Australian dominated every sector; secondly, that the minimum speeds through nearly all the corners (except the last one) favor the papaya-colored car, with peaks of up to +12 kilometers per hour at the famous Piratella (Turn 9).

It’s interesting to note that, in FP1, Ferrari was slightly better than McLaren at Turn 9. Being a high-speed corner, the gap seen in FP2 confirms that Ferrari softened the suspension. Before, when running stiffer, it was more competitive in high-speed corners but suffered too much over the kerbs, limiting performance.

In the second session, with a softer setup, kerb and bump absorption improved, but performance was lost in the only high-speed corners, along with Villeneuve. This entire reasoning highlights the usual limitations of the Italian car, which, without effective updates, will have to contend with these issues throughout the F1 season.

SF-25: excellent traction, several braking limitations
In terms of longitudinal dynamics, data analysis shows notable differences between the two cars. The SF-25 seems to compete with the MCL39 more on acceleration than on braking, showing excellent traction when exiting corners. Micro-sector data supports this: most exit zones are marked in red, while nearly all corner entries are orange.

Throttle telemetry also shows that Charles Leclerc is able to go full throttle at the same moment as Oscar Piastri—or even earlier in some areas—with less lift and more confidence. A soft rear end certainly optimizes exit phases, especially in uphill sections like Tosa (Turn 7) and Acque Minerali (Turn 13).
In braking, however, the Ferrari’s limits become apparent.

Since the start of the weekend, Hamilton has been complaining over the radio about the brakes, saying it’s very difficult to slow the car down. Charles Leclerc echoed this over team radio, calling the brakes “horrible” during the warm-up phase of the lap, and highlighting major difficulty on corner entry—particularly at corners 5, 9, and 11, as reported to his race engineer Bryan Bozzi. He still suffers from a lack of rotation during braking phases, a long-standing issue on the Italian car.

If the Maranello car doesn’t have perfect mechanical balance, it struggles. And as mentioned, on a track like Imola, this flaw is even more exposed in comparison to McLaren. The MCL39, on the other hand, appears very solid and balanced in every cornering phase. More work was needed on the SF-25, which could bring more competitiveness for the Italian team’s Saturday.