Pre-season title hopes fizzled out early, but Ferrari still needs to find consistency and salvage what it can.
Ferrari’s 2025 campaign has fallen short of pre-season expectations. After a winter of hopeful statements and optimism, the Maranello squad entered the season aiming to fight for the title. Reality, however, was immediately different: an SF-25 that lagged behind its rivals sparked frustration in Leclerc and, especially, in Hamilton, making the main theme of the first half of the season the steep learning curve with their new car.
Leclerc, meanwhile, has alternated a few positive surprises with difficult weekends, but overall even team principal Frederic Vasseur admitted that the first 14 races were far from ideal, citing issues with ride height and car setup. Despite only two standout moments—the sprint win by Hamilton in China and Leclerc’s pole position in Hungary—Ferrari still sits second in the Constructors’ Championship, as they did last year. However, the gap to McLaren has widened dramatically: 299 points compared to the 14-point deficit at the end of the previous season.
The car
The SF-25 has proven to be a difficult car to manage: Leclerc has repeatedly highlighted a general lack of performance, while Sainz has often described it as tricky to drive, unstable, and prone to brake issues. Upgrades—most notably the rear suspension tested at Mugello between Silverstone and Spa—have yet to bring substantial improvement. The car suffers too much over race distance, and its erratic performance—sometimes in podium contention, other times even outside the points—clearly illustrates the problem.
The drivers
Teammates may change, but Charles Leclerc remains Ferrari’s guiding light. The Monegasque has claimed all five of the team’s Sunday podiums so far, as well as a surprising pole position in Hungary. He, too, has had low points, such as the crash before the Miami sprint and the race at Silverstone, which he described as “one of the toughest of my career.”
Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, is going through a particularly challenging period. Arriving with great fanfare and the goal of returning both himself and Ferrari to the top, he instead found a car far below his expectations. Difficult qualifying sessions—like the double Q1 exit during the sprint weekend in Belgium—and team radios full of frustration (see Miami) clearly illustrate his journey with the Prancing Horse so far. There have been flashes of brilliance, such as the sprint win in China and comebacks in Bahrain and Belgium, but overall the seven-time world champion’s adaptation has been tough, and he has never hidden his dissatisfaction, even calling himself “useless” after qualifying in Budapest.
Best race
The high point of the first half of the season remains the Monaco Grand Prix, where Leclerc turned a front-row start in qualifying into a valuable second place in front of his home crowd. Hamilton, fourth on Saturday, was not out of place either, but a grid penalty prevented him from finishing higher than fifth.
Worst race
Despite the (unfortunately) wide range of debacles to choose from, the season opener in Australia probably marks the lowest point. On Friday, spirits at Ferrari were high, with the goal of fighting for pole and the win. Instead, qualifying crushed Red hopes, signaling that 2025 would not be the competitive year everyone had expected. Seventh and eighth on Saturday, eighth and tenth on Sunday: for Ferrari, the much-discussed title challenge began with a meager five points.
What to expect from the rest of the season
As Vasseur said after the Spanish GP: “We’d rather be second than fourth.” In light of the insurmountable gap to McLaren, Ferrari’s goal is therefore to solidify its position as the runner-up, aiming to make podiums a more common—and less surprising—occurrence.
After a first half of the season defined by disappointment and difficulty, Ferrari will need to focus on consistency. The extension of Vasseur’s contract for several years is a sign of trust and stability, but the car still requires significant development.
For the drivers, the goal will be to salvage what they can: Leclerc sits 36 points behind third-placed Max Verstappen and could close the gap if he maintains his current form, which positions him as the best driver outside the McLaren duo. Hamilton, for his part, will need to regain lost confidence and adapt more effectively to a team and car that have so far been difficult for him to feel at home with.
Photo: Scuderia Ferrari Multimedia
