Ferrari secures the second row with Charles Leclerc in third place and Lewis Hamilton in fifth position. The Austin Grand Prix qualifying session, which represents the second Formula 1 session of the weekend, brings a substantial sigh of relief to the Ferrari team. It could hardly have been otherwise, considering the significant competitive leap that has allowed the Italian team to fight effectively for the positions that truly matter in the championship standings. It is unfortunate, however, that a few minor mistakes and small errors prevented the team from achieving an even better and potentially more historic result. Nonetheless, the outcome demonstrates the clear progress Ferrari has made in terms of car performance, setup, and overall race weekend strategy.
SF-25 setup choices
Saturday was undeniably a positive day for Ferrari, confirming the excellent balance that had already been observed during the sprint qualifying session earlier in the weekend. However, in that particular context, the evolution of the lap-time gap across the circuit appeared to be strongly localized, meaning that the car’s performance varied significantly from one section of the track to another. There were specific corners and stretches where the SF-25 was losing a notable amount of time, which highlighted certain areas in need of improvement. Once these areas were addressed and corrected, the true potential of the Ferrari SF-25 on this challenging and technical track became much clearer to the engineers, drivers, and team strategists.
Additional time was needed to work further on the car’s setup, especially to fine-tune the balance between aerodynamic efficiency, mechanical grip, and tire management, all in pursuit of achieving an even stronger qualifying result. In the usual post-Sprint Race interviews, Charles Leclerc emphasized his hope and expectation regarding the setup adjustments that the Ferrari team would implement ahead of the main qualifying session. While it is not publicly known exactly what specific changes were made to the car, it is possible to make an educated assessment based on telemetry data and observable effects on the circuit. In general, analyzing the detailed telemetry information suggests that Ferrari engineers further unlocked the car’s traction, which is a critical aspect for optimizing performance in high-speed corners and on exit from slow-speed turns. This incremental improvement in traction was almost sufficient to secure a coveted front-row starting position for the Monegasque driver.
Without the minor obstruction from Max Verstappen in Turn 2—a small but ultimately significant incident involving traffic that always proves to be a frustrating factor for drivers, as it forces them to adjust their racing line and compromise the perfect execution of their lap—Charles Leclerc could have realistically finished in second place. Ultimately, he qualified just seven thousandths of a second behind Lando Norris, demonstrating just how fine the margins are in Formula 1, especially at the Circuit of the Americas, where small details can make the difference between third and second position. The small adjustments made to the SF-25 setup may have been primarily concentrated on the rear of the car to enhance rear-end grip and allow for more effective acceleration out of corners, a key factor in overall lap performance.
Ferrari’s understanding remains partial
What remains somewhat mysterious, even for the engineers and technical staff at Ferrari, is the remarkable improvement in performance compared to Friday’s sessions. Charles Leclerc confirmed that no major modifications or substantial changes were made to the car; instead, the team focused on fine-tuning existing parameters, making small but precise adjustments to optimize balance, responsiveness, and drivability. The car showed a marked improvement in drivability, allowing Charles to extract more from the SF-25 during both the flying laps in qualifying and in the high-pressure context of a race weekend. Once again, the performance of the SF-25 displays unexplained fluctuations at different points on the track, which remain difficult to fully understand. While it is possible that tire performance plays a role in these oscillations, the precise reason for the variability in lap times remains an open question for the team and observers alike.
As has often been repeated since the beginning of the 2025 Formula 1 season, small modifications and incremental improvements can produce disproportionately large differences in on-track performance. Charles Leclerc also mentioned that there was “something” the team worked on specifically, which in turn allowed him to fully exploit and adapt his personal driving style to the car’s behavior. For a driver, having an element of the car that is perfectly suited to their individual driving characteristics is often a fundamental requirement. This is especially true for a Ferrari driver, as the Scuderia’s cars tend to require a high “dynamic relationship” between the driver and the car to establish maximum confidence and feel. The more a driver can sense and predict the car’s reactions, the better they can manage tires, braking points, and cornering speeds across a lap.
Lewis Hamilton struggles with rotation
Lewis Hamilton faced more difficulties with this aspect of car behavior. The seven-time Formula 1 World Champion confirmed that he experienced a pronounced lack of rotation in the car, which hindered his ability to rotate the SF-25 effectively through corners, more so than his teammate Charles Leclerc. This is a challenge that the historic Modena-based Ferrari team has been contending with for a significant portion of the season. During the qualifying session, Lewis Hamilton attempted to address this issue by continuously increasing the angle of the front wing, a common technique to adjust the aerodynamic balance and improve turn-in response. However, despite these efforts, the modifications did not produce a significant on-track effect, leaving the British driver with an imperfect compromise between front-end grip and rear stability.
This issue closely mirrors the problems Red Bull experienced in the first half of the 2025 season, which they later resolved through targeted updates that ultimately transformed the performance of the RB21. The improvement in the Red Bull car is evident in Max Verstappen’s results from the Dutch Grand Prix onwards, where he has consistently demonstrated the ability to recover ground against McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Observing Ferrari’s sector times, the team appeared to lose similar amounts of time in both the first and second sectors of the track, which highlights the areas where rotation and tire management remained an ongoing concern for Lewis Hamilton.
Tires finally working effectively for Ferrari
In contrast, in the third sector of the Circuit of the Americas, the gap to the fastest drivers fell below one tenth of a second, indicating a noticeable improvement in the car’s balance and traction during the final sector, which is typically characterized by high-speed corners and elevation changes. Overall, Ferrari showed clear improvement over the full lap, representing a reversal from the performance patterns observed in yesterday’s qualifying session. The team’s growing understanding of tire behavior and performance has proven to be a crucial factor, allowing the Italian car to achieve higher overall grip levels. This enhanced grip benefits the car not only in braking zones but also in mid-corner performance and acceleration out of turns, enabling more consistent lap times and greater confidence for both drivers.
Team principal Frédéric Vasseur explicitly confirmed the team’s satisfaction with the outcome, showing visible signs of contentment and pride in the work completed by the engineering and strategy departments. Lewis Hamilton also expressed approval, highlighting the positive impact of the improvements on his ability to drive the car effectively. Ferrari managed to structure the qualifying session in a more methodical and gradual manner, correctly applying all tire procedures and strategies. This careful and precise approach provided the drivers with a tangible advantage on the final qualifying run, ultimately allowing Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton to maximize the potential of the SF-25 on track.
The performance seen in Austin is a testament to the importance of meticulous setup work, incremental improvements, and the adaptability of both drivers and engineers. The Ferrari team has demonstrated that, through careful analysis, attention to detail, and strategic adjustments, they can elevate the performance of the SF-25 even in a highly competitive environment where every millisecond counts. By refining traction, improving rear-end grip, and optimizing tire usage, Ferrari has placed both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in strong positions for the race, ready to challenge for the podium and capitalize on any opportunities that may arise during the Grand Prix.
In conclusion, the Ferrari SF-25 displayed both its potential and its areas for further development during the Austin Grand Prix qualifying session. The careful setup adjustments, fine-tuning efforts, and tire management strategies allowed Charles Leclerc to secure a strong third-place start, while Lewis Hamilton overcame rotation challenges to claim fifth. The team’s ability to analyze telemetry, understand tire behavior, and implement incremental improvements has clearly paid off, demonstrating that Ferrari is now competitive against McLaren, Red Bull, and Mercedes on a technical and strategic level. While some minor errors and traffic incidents slightly limited their performance, the progress seen in Austin is a promising indicator of Ferrari’s capabilities for the race.
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