Ferrari’s small gains in Suzuka: SF-25 potential still limited without updates. Ferrari's Modest Progress: Some SF-25 Doubts Cleared.

For the first time this year, a Ferrari will start the Grand Prix from the second row. Charles Leclerc is three-tenths behind the pole position, two hundredths more than the gap in Shanghai, but with the mitigating factor of a technical and long track that amplifies the differences. More than the lap time, positive signals come from the synergy between the Monegasque driver and the SF-25, whose potential, however, remains insufficient to challenge McLaren and Verstappen without updates.

Good progress from Friday “I think there was really nothing more to extract today.” Charles Leclerc does not hide his awareness that he has no margin to worry those ahead of him, at least for now. The Monegasque loses more than a tenth in the final chicane in his fastest lap compared to his best personal reference, but given the final gap, it would not have made a difference in terms of position. Ferrari still confirms itself in the lead group, moreover on a track that, with fast corners and uphill compressions, creates difficulties in stabilizing the ground clearance of the floor. In fact, Hamilton confirmed the issues in this regard to Sky F1 microphones: “We’re running higher than we’d like.”

Unlike the first two Grands Prix of the year, however, this time the Prancing Horse manages to progress throughout the weekend, without losing competitiveness from Friday to Saturday. Between FP1 and FP2, the Scuderia mainly focused on the first sector, where the corners initially represented a strong point. During the night, Ferrari worked mainly on the final two sections, dominated by medium-to-low-speed corners and the old asphalt. The balance chosen prevented improvement in the initial chicane, where most of the gap to the top three was concentrated, but the final result confirms that Ferrari’s path with Charles Leclerc was the right one.

Work in progress.

A different atmosphere is felt in Lewis Hamilton’s garage, eighth behind Isack Hadjar’s Racing Bulls. The Englishman once again complains of understeering problems during qualifying, exacerbated by the progressively cooling track and the new asphalt rubbering up, which increases grip and, as always, shifts the balance toward the rear. The different synergy with the SF-25 reflects a different setup compared to Leclerc: “We chose two different directions for the setup.” Thus, a divergence in setup is repeated, as seen in China. This dynamic highlights how the driving styles of the two Prancing Horse drivers, although similar, are not perfectly interchangeable, while also indicating that the team is still experimenting to find the best setup philosophy.

For now, the benefits are more evident on Charles Leclerc’s side, who already on Friday confirmed a clearer understanding of the SF-25’s needs: “We have a better idea of how to maximize our potential this weekend. […] We have learned things with the car for future races.” The ideas put into practice overnight immediately prove their worth, clearing up some doubts about how to extract the potential of the package, both with the setup and with driving. “Yesterday I made a big leap forward on my side,” the Monegasque commented after qualifying. “I understood better how I want to set up the car.”

Waiting for updates Now, the focus is on assessing the Ferraris’ race pace, generally better than their one-lap performance. Much will depend on the weather conditions, with a 40% chance of rain, but even in case of a dry Grand Prix, a recovery for the two Ferraris seems unlikely. Dirty air represents an obstacle to expressing their potential, on a track that is also not very favorable for overtaking. Therefore, work will be needed to improve performance in qualifying, with the first help expected from updates already in the pipeline and approved even before the presentation.