The Formula 1 weekend begins. In Barcelona, Ferrari is expected to replicate its strong performance from Monaco, where Charles Leclerc finished on the podium and fought for victory until the end, even though Max Verstappen’s blocking of Lando Norris and the impossibility of overtaking helped the Monegasque stay in contention. The technical directive TD018 debuts in Spain, aimed at limiting the flexing of front wings.
In Maranello, despite Frederic Vasseur’s recent statements, there is a belief that this new FIA directive won’t significantly alter the competitive order. Charles Leclerc admitted it wouldn’t impact the SF-25 much, although there’s some hope it might affect rivals more decisively, albeit with little real conviction. Both Ferrari cars began the session on Hard tyres, aiming to assess the car’s baseline balance.
The first laps were completed at a controlled pace without pushing, to analyse the direction taken with the setup. Special attention was given to the front end adjustment, a key element on a technical track like Barcelona. The initial phase was therefore dedicated to data collection and understanding the car’s behaviour.
It took just one lap for Charles Leclerc to request a change to the front wing: six extra clicks to increase aerodynamic load at the front and improve overall balance. Lewis Hamilton also requested a similar adjustment, though more modest, with three extra clicks. Overall, the car appeared reasonably balanced but continued to show slight issues with corner rotation—an existing limitation seen in previous races.
During the second run, drivers were asked to further increase front load. The aim was to fully understand how best to set up the car, especially in light of the new TD018 directive, which has altered how aerodynamics are managed. Currently, the main weakness is in the first sector, especially with two tenths lost in Turn 4. Ferrari’s work is focused on this point.
In addition to clear understeer on entry, excessive rotation in the middle of corners also emerged. The pattern is familiar: too much steering angle causes the SF-25 to lose rear grip when drivers get back on the throttle. While it’s still too early for definitive conclusions about handling, the early signs suggest the car’s behaviour aligns with what’s been seen so far.
Still on Hard compound Pirellis—chosen by nearly all teams—both Ferraris showed more effective corner entry, especially in Turn 5, where a lack of rotation was evident during the previous run. In this respect, there still seems to be room for improvement. The first sector remains problematic: the cars lose up to three tenths compared to top references, a clear sign that work remains.
The second sector isn’t ideal either, with an average gap of about a tenth and a half. Things go considerably better in the final part of the lap, where the Maranello cars appear more stable and gain about a tenth over rivals. Gusts of wind disrupted aerodynamics and made data interpretation more complex, but it’s clear that further progress in setup is needed to be truly competitive.
One of the SF-25’s critical points remains Turn 10, where the car continues to show marked understeer. At every pass, the Ferraris tend to run wide, forcing the drivers to use excessive steering angle. It’s a corner that inherently limits rotation and must be managed with extreme precision. At present, Ferrari is struggling to find the right compromise.
Hamilton ahead of Leclerc on Softs
In the second half of FP1, Ferrari hit the track on Soft tyres, which offer significantly higher grip. Making the most of them requires very precise setup work. On the first attempt with the softest compound, understeer remained evident and the SF-25’s general behaviour showed no significant improvement. The key weak spots remained, confirming previously observed issues.
In the first sector, small corrections at the wheel were still needed to bring the car back onto the ideal line, while in the second part of the circuit the extra grip from the Softs yielded more positive lap time feedback. Turn 12 proved tricky again: drivers often had to apply too much steering, destabilising the rear on exit. To address this, the team once again tweaked front aerodynamic load with further adjustments.
With high track temperatures, completing two fast laps in a row became difficult. This made it even harder to accurately assess the car’s behaviour. Drivability issues persisted, limiting the car’s potential—a situation the drivers clearly felt and expressed frustration over. As a result, the Maranello team continued making setup changes in an effort to stabilise the aerodynamic platform.
In the final 15 minutes, both Ferrari drivers returned to the track for high-fuel simulations, useful for evaluating the SF-25’s race performance. With full tanks, as often happens, Ferrari’s drivability improved noticeably. The cars lapped about five seconds slower than in earlier phases, clear evidence of a long-run approach during this segment.
The team chose to split the program: Charles Leclerc ran on Softs, Lewis Hamilton on Hards. The initial push laps were encouraging, with competitive times and consistent pace. However, by the fourth lap, rear instability began to appear, suggesting either degradation or thermal imbalance. As always, these tests must be interpreted cautiously: Ferrari appeared to be running heavy fuel loads, while McLaren seemed lighter.
Charles Leclerc’s race pace was the best overall: despite running Softs, the SF-25 showed no signs of degradation after seven laps and was effectively the fastest car on track—adjusted, of course, for fuel loads and engine modes. The contrast with the car’s instability over a single lap was even more striking on such a technical track as Barcelona. The first signs of trouble came only on lap 8, just moments before the chequered flag.
It is far, far too early to draw conclusions—relying on a single hour of free practice would be misguided. Nevertheless, it is a positive start for Ferrari, at least in terms of race pace. The single lap remains a problem, with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc finishing third and fourth but trailing Lando Norris’ best time by three and five tenths, respectively. Once again, Norris outpaced his teammate Oscar Piastri.
— see video above —
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