According to the media, Ferrari may have avoided disqualification in Melbourne by raising the height of their car. This speculation follows the team’s disappointing qualifying performance
A qualifying session to forget. The first battle for pole position in 2025 was undoubtedly disastrous for Ferrari: only a fourth-row start for the Maranello team, with Leclerc seventh and Hamilton eighth. This was certainly a result far below expectations for the Scuderia, who entered the weekend with high ambitions, even without explicitly stating their goal of aiming for pole.
As reported, even the drivers admitted that something went wrong during qualifying, though they remained confident in the SF-25’s potential. This was especially true because it appears, quite clearly, that Ferrari opted for a race setup, favoring a very “conservative” car in anticipation of heavy rain during the Grand Prix.
According to FormulaPassion.it and Sky Sport commentator Carlo Vanzini on social media, it seems that the Scuderia was unexpectedly “forced” to raise their car, drastically altering the setup. Why? It appears that the Ferrari was too low before qualifying (although we saw Mercedes cars sitting extremely flat on the asphalt), which would have compelled them to raise the car.
Ferrari was also mindful of a notorious precedent: in the 2023 United States Grand Prix, Leclerc and, ironically, Lewis Hamilton—now Charles’ teammate but at the time still with Mercedes—were disqualified due to their cars touching the ground, considered illegal by the FIA for their ride heights, even though the issue was just a matter of millimeters. The race is tomorrow, and despite low expectations and the rain, we’ll have an exciting race ahead. We’ll see if the “strategy,” whether intentional or not, will pay off.
Photo: Scuderia Ferrari HP
