Unusual conditions and a series of mistakes gave Ferrari a difficult start to the season, but they’re back on track immediately in China.
The Ferrari stopped after the second free practice session of the Australian Grand Prix. The race pace and qualifying simulation, mainly shown by Charles Leclerc, had fooled both the Ferrari fans and the drivers themselves. However, the Australian weekend revealed something else, exposing significant weaknesses, both technically and in terms of management.
It’s only the first of twenty-four races in a season that promises to be highly competitive, but the start certainly hasn’t been the best. This feeling became clear in the third free practice session when, due to changing weather conditions, the SF-25 couldn’t perform as it had in FP2 or the following qualifying sessions, particularly in Q3, when neither driver was able to improve their times after switching from used to fresh tires.
The team had hopes for the race and for a potential comeback from Leclerc and Hamilton, but that didn’t happen, quite the opposite. The eighth-place finish for the Monegasque driver and the tenth-place finish for the Briton earned the Scuderia only 5 points, a disappointing result given the expectations.
Aside from the technical errors, such as the decision to raise the car due to a potential disqualification and the car’s sensitivity to small changes in weather, there were also management mistakes that, with hindsight, could have allowed both Ferrari drivers to finish in higher positions. The choice not to bring them in when the rain was intensifying significantly wasted a possible top-5 finish for at least one of the two drivers, but this situation requires a different discussion.
As can be heard in the team radios, Leclerc, of his own accord, chose not to pit, opting for a gamble that didn’t pay off and forced him to finish in eighth place. A slightly different situation for Hamilton, who had been reassured by his engineer Adami that the rain would be brief and light, not heavy. For a moment, the Briton found himself in first position, only to be overtaken by Norris and then relegated to tenth place by Piastri’s pass.
The general feeling is that the SF-25 cannot be this way and that the seven-tenth gap seen in qualifying, taken by McLaren, is not an accurate reflection. There are many things to correct and work on, and the opportunity will come soon since the team will be back on track in just a week, heading to Shanghai. McLaren is ahead of the competition, but Ferrari cannot be the same as it was on Saturday and Sunday in Melbourne.
The potential is there, as both drivers repeatedly state in every interview, including Vasseur himself. The car’s sensitivity to weather changes and its specific tire window, especially in qualifying, absolutely needs improvement, as does the work on the new front suspension, which is completely different from the SF-24.
As mentioned, in a week, Ferrari will be back on track at a circuit with characteristics completely different from Melbourne’s. Last season, the two Ferraris finished in fourth and fifth places, with a gap of nearly half a minute from Max Verstappen. The Melbourne weekend is already behind, as is the overall performance. The real test for Ferrari now is in China.
Photo: Scuderia Ferrari Gallery