Analyzing Ferrari’s SF-25 Difficulties Seen in Jeddah and Suzuka — What Can We Expect in Miami?
Charles Leclerc’s first podium of the 2025 season in Jeddah could reignite what has so far been a near-disastrous campaign for Ferrari. A year like this was certainly not what Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur and Technical Director Loïc Serra had envisioned when developing the SF-25 — a car that has, until now, proven both underwhelming and difficult to drive. Yet, in the last two races, at Sakhir and Jeddah (Bahrain and Saudi Arabia), the Scuderia seems to have finally found a more promising direction to steer its season.
Heading into the Saudi Arabian GP, there were many unknowns: where exactly does the SF-25 shine? Would it show strength in the high-speed, long-radius corners of Sector 1, or are those still its Achilles’ heel? The race delivered a clear answer: Ferrari continues to struggle — just as it did last year — in low-downforce sectors marked by high-speed or extended corners. Ironically, what was supposed to be a key strength of the SF-25 has instead emerged as perhaps its most pressing weakness.
Do Jeddah and Suzuka Reveal the Core Issues with the SF-25?
The Saudi GP, particularly in qualifying, highlighted these imbalances between sectors. On Saturday, Leclerc lost a striking 349 milliseconds to pole-sitter Max Verstappen in just the first sector — a stretch lasting only 31 seconds. That gap underscores two major weaknesses: Ferrari’s corner entry performance (they were only the ninth-fastest car through Turns 1–2), and their overall efficiency in high-speed chicanes.
At the end of the lap in Jeddah, Leclerc’s deficit to Verstappen was 376 milliseconds — virtually unchanged from Sector 1, reinforcing how pivotal that segment is. A similar pattern played out in Suzuka, prior to the updates introduced in Bahrain. Leclerc qualified fourth in Japan, 316 milliseconds behind Verstappen, with 0.2 seconds of that time loss occurring exclusively in the first, high-speed sector. The other two sectors were almost evenly matched.
However, the development path Ferrari has embarked on offers reasons for cautious optimism. The SF-25 has demonstrated strong tyre management — a trait carried over from the SF-24 — both in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Leclerc in particular has shown excellent performance in the second stint of races, where the car’s balance has been notably sharp. All eyes now turn to Barcelona, which could prove decisive in determining whether there’s still hope for this 2025 campaign, or if it’s already time to turn the page.
Photo: Scuderia Ferrari HP