At Spa-Francorchamps, Charles Leclerc confirmed a step forward for the Ferrari SF-25, mainly due to the introduction of a revised rear suspension system. However, despite these improvements, the gap to the top drivers in terms of single-lap pace remains significant. The 2025 version of the SF-25 continues to suffer from a lack of grip and aerodynamic load, particularly on low-fuel qualifying laps. Ferrari’s approach appears to be one of compromise—but for now, the car lacks a clear area of strength.
Sometimes, complex analysis is unnecessary. Charles Leclerc, who has often worn a forced smile this season, offered a straightforward and honest summary of Ferrari’s performance—especially when it comes to the stopwatch, which is the sport’s ultimate judge. While in many other race weekends one could have said “it’s only Friday,” at Spa, where a Sprint format condenses everything into a single day, those words carry a much heavier meaning.
“I can feel the changes, but the fact is the gap is still very large,” said Leclerc, getting straight to the point. He finished Sprint Qualifying in fourth place, but the session revealed two contrasting aspects of the SF-25. On one hand, the car’s upgrades—particularly the new rear suspension—seem to be delivering improvements in both handling and overall performance.
On the other hand, these gains clash with the most glaring limitation of Ferrari’s current package: the lack of single-lap performance. The timing screens continue to show a painful truth—one that has surfaced repeatedly throughout the 2025 season. Ferrari struggles to close the performance gap in Qualifying, particularly between Q2 and Q3, with the SF-25 consistently lacking the grip and ability to push the tyres to the limit in the same way rivals like McLaren and Red Bull can.
This message was reinforced by Charles Leclerc’s post-session interviews, where he returned to a recurring theme—one that feels even more relevant at a track like Spa-Francorchamps. The SF-25 lacks mechanical grip and aerodynamic load, and on a demanding circuit like this one, those two shortcomings contributed heavily to the nearly eight-tenths deficit to the front of the grid.
Mercedes experienced similar issues, delivering one of its weakest Fridays of the year. When a team introduces such a substantial technical update, it is never easy to immediately find the right balance or turning point. Naturally, it takes several race weekends to optimize a new package—and no single update will dramatically transform Ferrari’s entire 2025 campaign.
Nevertheless, as Charles Leclerc bluntly pointed out, those eight tenths remain a heavy burden. Even in a context where the team is still in learning mode, the performance gap raises serious questions about the underlying issues with the car. The numbers paint a clear picture: the bulk of Ferrari’s time loss comes in the second sector of the lap—the most technical and twisty section of the Spa circuit. That sector is where car balance and aerodynamic efficiency are truly put to the test.
In his best lap during SQ3, Charles Leclerc recorded a 43.2-second split in the second sector—half a second slower than Oscar Piastri and just over five-hundredths behind Max Verstappen. But while Verstappen builds most of his advantage elsewhere, Piastri’s dominance in that middle section reveals where Ferrari’s deficits lie.
And this is the core of the problem: at Spa, Ferrari lacks a true strength. The SF-25 operates as a compromise setup, attempting to balance multiple needs without excelling in any specific area. In qualifying trim, the result is a car that cannot mount a solid defense against either McLaren or Red Bull. Additionally, the SF-25 also showed clear weaknesses in traction zones, further compounding its issues.
McLaren, for instance, fully leveraged the strengths of its MCL39 in the central part of the circuit. The car generates high levels of aerodynamic load, particularly from the floor, allowing it to dominate the twistier, downforce-dependent corners. Oscar Piastri made the most of this advantage, but even Lando Norris—despite not having a standout session—still managed to be two tenths faster than Charles Leclerc and a little over a tenth ahead of Max Verstappen in that sector.
As anticipated, the MCL39 is not the fastest car on the straights, although McLaren adopted a lower-drag rear wing this weekend compared to recent outings to reduce their time loss on long straights. Still, the car’s grip and handling through the middle of the lap made a decisive difference in the overall lap time.
Red Bull Racing, for its part, remained loyal to its proven aerodynamic philosophy. The RB21 continues to shine thanks to its outstanding aerodynamic efficiency and high-speed cornering capability—traits that were already evident at Silverstone a few weeks earlier and were once again on display at Spa.
The RB21 was the fastest car not only along the Kemmel Straight, where it reached 4 km/h more than the McLaren, but also down the straight before the final chicane, comfortably outpacing both the Ferrari SF-25 and the MCL39.
Although the RB21 is not the best car through chicanes and rapid direction changes typical of the second sector, it manages to compensate with excellent high-speed stability—especially through Turn 10 (Pouhon). That section showcases the aerodynamic superiority of the Red Bull car. For example, Charles Leclerc lost more than a tenth and a half to Max Verstappen in that single corner, underlining the performance gap in real terms.
Ferrari opted for a middle-ground setup: not as extreme as Red Bull’s, which is designed to exploit top speed on straights, but not as high-downforce as McLaren’s either, which excels in tight, technical corners. This left Ferrari caught in a performance limbo. The SF-25 is improved, yes—but still far from the front. The team can only hope that race pace over long distances will deliver better results than what the one-lap data suggests.
At this point, Ferrari’s realistic target may no longer be challenging McLaren, but instead trying to put pressure on Max Verstappen and secure the status of the second-fastest team—especially on a circuit like Spa-Francorchamps, where Red Bull’s RB21 is clearly in its element.
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