Since 2016, when the Azerbaijan GP joined the Formula 1 calendar (initially as the European GP), Ferrari had never finished this far from the top: a result that underlines the difficulties of the SF-25.
The 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix marked a record for Ferrari — though certainly not a positive one. Never since Baku’s debut in Formula 1 had the Scuderia ended up so far from victory, both in terms of position and time gap. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton crossed the line in eighth and ninth place respectively, without ever showing signs of being able to fight with the frontrunners.
Adding to the bitter stat was the gap to the leaders: both Ferrari drivers finished more than 36 seconds behind Max Verstappen, the undisputed dominator of the race. Coincidentally (or due to the lack of a swap with Hamilton), both ended the GP 36 seconds behind Verstappen — more precisely 36.3s for Hamilton and 36.7s for Leclerc.
The struggles came from a mix of factors: mistakes in qualifying, no Safety Car to shuffle the pack, traffic on track, but above all, the lack of competitiveness of the SF-25. A combination that relegated Ferrari to the role of third or even fourth force, far from the high ambitions set at the beginning of a season further boosted by the arrival of the seven-time world champion.
The only worse outing in Baku came in 2022, when both Leclerc and Sainz were forced to retire. On that occasion, however, Leclerc was leading the race when his engine failed — a sign that, at least then, competitiveness wasn’t lacking.
