Lusail exposes Ferrari SF-25 weakness – No mid-corner support and painfully slow minimum speeds. Ferrari struggles in Qatar as the SF-25 shows low minimum speed.

After a challenging F1 Sprint Race and a difficult Friday qualifying session, Ferrari hoped that setup adjustments could restore some confidence, stability, and performance. However, Lusail proved once again to be a ruthless circuit for the SF-25: long high-speed corners, continuous lateral load, and an extremely sensitive tire window continued to expose unresolved structural weaknesses.

All of Ferrari’s weaknesses confirmed

The result was a bitter qualifying session: Oscar Piastri took pole, showcasing a precise and solid MCL39, while Charles Leclerc struggled to tenth, suffering a significant +1.174s gap. This deficit cannot be explained by a single mistake or imperfect tire; it reflects the SF-25’s ongoing struggle to find a real balance.

The goal of the setup changes was to partly address the car’s chronic lack of rotation and weak mid-to-high speed support, which during the Sprint Race had made the SF-25 difficult to handle across all three sectors, particularly the first and third. Early laps suggested a slight improvement, but not enough to close the gap to the leaders.

The front end felt more precise, thanks to a few extra degrees of front wing angle. However, this adjustment caused numerous, sometimes slight and sometimes severe, snap oversteer incidents at corner entry. Mid-corner behavior appeared slightly more controlled, with fewer sudden disturbances, though problems persisted.

Rotation and grip issues in long corners

In long high-speed corners, the SF-25 struggled to generate sufficient aerodynamic downforce when pushed, losing an average of 7 km/h in each mid-to-high speed turn. In fast sections, particularly the 4-5 sequence and the long corners 12-15, two weaknesses became apparent: inability to maintain consistent grip and too low minimum speed.

The car progressively loses lateral support, forcing Charles Leclerc to lift off at turn 14, while Oscar Piastri can remain at the limit without easing off the accelerator. Even with a reasonably loaded front wing, in turn 15 the Monegasque must brake to transfer weight forward and avoid understeer at 260 km/h.

Telemetry confirms performance gap

Telemetry shows that in corners requiring clean realignment, the lack of initial rotation forces Charles Leclerc to reduce speed further, creating a domino effect through subsequent sections. The lap, even without major mistakes, cannot be competitive.

Nothing dramatic happens, but every corner “gives away” a few tenths to an extremely solid McLaren. A significant metric highlighting this is full throttle usage: 77.5% for Oscar Piastri versus 74.2% for Charles Leclerc. A 3% gap is enormous on a track rich in fast corners, where maintaining power on the throttle is key. Equally telling is full braking percentage: 10.8% for Oscar Piastri compared to 16.1% for Charles Leclerc, indicating the Australian requires much less braking due to excellent baseline rotation from an optimal setup both mechanically and aerodynamically.

Front-end feedback and handling

Good torsional stiffness is crucial at Lusail, allowing the driver to feel the front end precisely. Despite loading the front wing to maximize rotation, the Monegasque still needs to brake to transfer weight forward. Oscar Piastri enjoys a car that inspires confidence at every speed, while Charles Leclerc struggles corner after corner in a car that limits his ability to exploit his talent. Tenth place is an accurate snapshot: small improvements, but a performance gap too large to overcome on a track that clearly does not suit the SF-25.