Ferrari returned to the Formula 1 podium with Charles Leclerc in the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix held at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Despite a weekend that began on the wrong foot with several difficulties in the early practice sessions and qualifying, the Italian racing team managed to turn things around and end the Grand Prix on a highly positive note. During the opening stint of the race, Charles Leclerc experienced difficulties in the middle sector of the track due to a lower aerodynamic load on his SF-25 car when compared to the McLaren Formula 1 cars, which gave his rivals a noticeable performance advantage early on. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton also delivered a solid and determined performance. The British driver fought his way up to seventh position in the early laps of the race, although his impressive recovery was eventually halted by a lack of top speed while attempting to overtake the Williams car of Alexander Albon.
Lewis Hamilton recovers 8 positions in the opening stint thanks to high-downforce configuration
Following an extended delay caused by a passing storm and adverse weather conditions, all of the Formula 1 drivers began the race on intermediate tyres, as the track was still wet but drying rapidly. In this early phase of the Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc appeared to struggle with the same tyre temperature management issues that had already affected him during the Saturday qualifying session. The Ferrari pit wall even advised the Monegasque driver via team radio to seek out damp patches off the optimal racing line in order to help cool down the surface temperature of his tyres and prevent overheating.
Charles Leclerc, who reported experiencing significant understeer in the corners, was lapping approximately 1.4 seconds slower than the leading McLaren drivers. In contrast, Lewis Hamilton, who was running a higher-downforce setup that had been selected by his Ferrari engineers, was able to make significant progress from the lower half of the grid. The experienced British driver gained seven positions during the first stint alone, displaying a much faster pace than the cars ahead of him. His lap times improved noticeably with every overtaking manoeuvre, a clear sign that the car was working well under those conditions.
However, shortly after this initial phase, nearly all of the front-running cars experienced a sudden and dramatic drop in performance due to excessive degradation of the intermediate tyres. This type of tyre wear is notoriously difficult to control in transitional weather conditions like those seen in Belgium. As the iconic circuit winding through the Ardennes forest continued to dry rapidly, most teams opted to bring their drivers into the pits to switch to slick tyres after approximately seven laps, initiating a flurry of strategic pit stops.
Ferrari handles front-tyre graining well on the medium compound tyres
Lewis Hamilton was the first driver to pit for slick tyres, capitalizing on a strategically excellent call from the Ferrari pit wall. This early switch to dry-weather tyres allowed the British driver to gain even more positions on track. The performance advantage of having fresher slick tyres, combined with the aerodynamic benefits of his high-downforce car configuration, helped him close in on the Williams car driven by Alexander Albon. However, despite these efforts, Lewis Hamilton ultimately finished the Grand Prix more than one second per lap behind McLaren driver Oscar Piastri.
The British champion found it difficult to overtake Alexander Albon due to the increased aerodynamic drag created by his Ferrari’s higher downforce settings. Furthermore, in his efforts to remain close to the rear wing of the Thai-British driver, Lewis Hamilton overheated his tyre compounds. This led to a drop in grip and performance, forcing him to slow down and lose momentum. Only in the final laps of the race was the Ferrari driver able to regain some pace and begin closing the gap to Alexander Albon once again, although he was ultimately unable to complete a pass.
Charles Leclerc, by contrast, demonstrated superior tyre management skills during his second stint on medium compound tyres. By gradually bringing his tyres up to temperature and avoiding aggressive driving in the initial laps, he was able to pull away from Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen and stay within a competitive distance from the two leading McLaren cars. On the same medium tyre compound as Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc was only four-tenths of a second slower per lap on average during this middle phase of the race. Like his teammate, Charles Leclerc also experienced some graining on the front tyres, although the issue cleared up after around ten laps as the rubber surface stabilised.
Charles Leclerc delivers a superb performance by keeping Max Verstappen at bay for the entire race
At the front of the field, the different tyre strategies between the two McLaren Formula 1 drivers—Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris—played a key role in shaping their respective race approaches. The strategic decisions made by the McLaren pit wall were heavily influenced by the different compounds chosen for each car. It remained unclear—based on radio communications between the team and the drivers—whether the tyres fitted to the MCL39 machines would be able to last until the end of the race without significant performance drop-off. Ultimately, Lando Norris, who had opted for the hard compound C1 tyres, managed to maintain a slightly better average pace than his Australian teammate Oscar Piastri.
Lando Norris took advantage of the greater mechanical durability and resistance of the harder tyre compound during the final stint of the Grand Prix. This allowed him to regain several seconds on Oscar Piastri in the closing laps. However, a series of small driving mistakes made by Lando Norris earlier in the race cost him approximately three seconds in total, which ultimately denied him the opportunity to mount a serious challenge for the race victory.
Behind Charles Leclerc, Mercedes driver George Russell and Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen engaged in a brief on-track battle during the early part of the race. The British driver was able to match Max Verstappen’s lap times until approximately the sixth lap, at which point he began to experience severe degradation of his tyres. From that moment onward, Max Verstappen was no longer under pressure from behind but was also unable to mount a proper attack on the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque driver did an outstanding job of maintaining a consistent time gap to the Dutchman throughout the entire race distance.
Max Verstappen lost approximately one second due to the time spent defending against George Russell in the opening laps. Fortunately for Charles Leclerc, the brief off-track moment he experienced on lap 37 did not cost him enough time for Verstappen to close the gap significantly. Aside from that small mistake, both Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen recorded very similar lap times when the track was completely dry in the final phase of the Belgian Grand Prix.
— see video above —
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