Through the 2024–2025 winter break, when Formulation 1 followers imagined the anticipated on-track rivalry between Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, the expectation was an exhilarating duel marked by pole positions and race victories. Nevertheless, the 2025 Formulation 1 season has as a substitute become one more bitter tablet for the Italian facet to swallow. The 222 factors gathered to date within the Constructors’ Championship seem disheartening when in comparison with the 302 factors scored final 12 months, notably for the reason that optimism for 2025 had been fueled by a superb second half of the 2024 season.
This disappointing state of affairs has pushed the inner battle between the 2 Ferrari drivers into the background. As a substitute, the main focus has shifted towards restoration efforts from Ferrari’s Sporting Administration division. A big a part of that restoration plan is centered across the long-awaited new rear suspension system, which made its debut on the Mugello circuit a number of days in the past. Ferrari now hopes to return to a aggressive degree in most races from now till the season finale in Abu Dhabi, simply because it did lower than twelve months in the past following the mechanical upgrades launched at Spa-Francorchamps and aerodynamic enhancements unveiled in Monza and Austin for the SF-24.
It’s no secret that each Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are natural-born winners. Whereas the Briton’s report speaks for itself, the Monegasque driver has persistently demonstrated his means to extract most efficiency from the automobile when it permits him to struggle for high positions. For that reason, the inner battle between the 2 Ferrari teammates may ignite once more within the second half of the season.
The Comparability: Hamilton on the Rise Since Spielberg, Whereas Leclerc Appears to Battle in Qualifying
The story of the primary a part of the 2025 Formulation 1 season for the Ferrari pair has been characterised by Charles Leclerc’s power throughout race stints. It was not till the British Grand Prix at Silverstone that Lewis Hamilton managed to be quicker than his teammate over a full race distance. This outcome appeared unimaginable initially of the season, notably contemplating Lewis Hamilton’s robust Sunday performances in 2024 when he was nonetheless paired with George Russell at Mercedes.
Charles Leclerc’s difficulties on the Silverstone circuit in moist situations had been carefully linked to his aggressive automobile setup decisions. Telemetry information confirmed that Ferrari suffered from traction points in comparison with its rivals, and the Monegasque’s automobile specifically struggled greater than Lewis Hamilton’s. After twelve Grands Prix, Charles Leclerc lastly skilled a very troublesome weekend at Silverstone—his first important setback after an in any other case constant season. As a result of inherent limitations of the SF-25, each Ferrari drivers have been compelled to make appreciable setup compromises, particularly in qualifying. In that self-discipline, the 27-year-old driver nonetheless holds an 8–4 benefit in head-to-head battles with a mean hole of 0.15 seconds in his favor.
Nevertheless, in race situations—the place the Ferrari SF-25 usually turns into extra aggressive, notably in slower sectors—Charles Leclerc’s dominance turns into extra pronounced. He leads 10–2 in race tempo comparisons with a mean benefit of over two-tenths of a second per lap. When in comparison with Lewis Hamilton’s earlier intra-team battles with George Russell at Mercedes, the numbers verify what many already suspected: Charles Leclerc’s uncooked pace is past query.
Current weekends have introduced some optimistic surprises for Ferrari when it comes to automobile efficiency, and there have additionally been encouraging indicators of progress from Lewis Hamilton. Knowledge reveals that the primary half of the season might be divided into three distinct phases for the 2 Ferrari drivers.
The Challenges of the SF-25: A Automobile That Exams Each Drivers
The SF-25’s inherent limitations have been a constant theme throughout all of the races this 12 months and assist clarify each drivers’ setup decisions and ensuing struggles. Regardless of being designed to have a powerful entrance finish, the SF-25 nonetheless suffers from persistent understeer in qualifying—a difficulty that has plagued Ferrari’s ground-effect vehicles for the reason that 2022 Silverstone and French Grand Prix updates. The rear finish additionally fails to offer both driver with the boldness they want.
Within the early races of the season, each Ferrari drivers started through the use of extra typical setup configurations. Throughout this part, Charles Leclerc maintained a constant fringe of round 0.15 seconds over his teammate in each qualifying and race situations. Ranging from the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka and much more so from the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sakhir, Charles Leclerc selected what he described as a extra “aggressive” path when it comes to automobile setup in an effort to extract extra potential from the SF-25.
In Could, the Monegasque driver defined that the SF-25 was harder to drive than its predecessors. He famous that the automobile was very front-end-focused, making it notably difficult to deal with throughout qualifying when drivers are pushing to absolutely the restrict. This was clearly mirrored within the information: from the Bahrain Grand Prix onward, Charles Leclerc elevated his race tempo benefit over Lewis Hamilton by one other tenth of a second. Nevertheless, in qualifying, the advance was extra modest and the hole between the 2 remained noticeable. Charles Leclerc’s uncommon errors through the remaining laps of Q3 in Montreal and Silverstone served as additional proof of simply how difficult it’s to drive the SF-25 when making an attempt to extract most efficiency. The automobile continues to battle to convey the tyres into the optimum window at key moments, not like its rivals.
Regardless of these challenges, Charles Leclerc’s method has paid off with 4 podium finishes, making it a internet optimistic selection.
Hamilton’s Response Since Spielberg: A Step Ahead Because of the New Flooring
In latest weeks, Lewis Hamilton’s response has coincided with the introduction of a brand new ground on the Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg. This improve helped to widen the automobile’s efficiency window and made the SF-25 extra forgiving to drive. In consequence, some beforehand hidden potential was unlocked, and Hamilton has moved nearer to Leclerc’s degree.
Earlier than the latest updates, telemetry revealed that the Briton was struggling notably in high-speed corners and in mid-to-low pace sections with elevation modifications. This degree of issue had not been seen in his latest battles with George Russell, and it might partially be defined by the technical setup decisions on automobile quantity 44. Lewis Hamilton’s SF-25 ran with a entrance finish that was much less loaded, resulting in difficulties in high-speed sections and a transparent insecurity within the automobile’s habits. Nevertheless, his extra steady rear finish setup allowed him to be extra aggressive in slower corners.
Telemetry comparisons between the 2 Ferrari drivers present a key distinction in off-throttle habits: Lewis Hamilton is considerably faster to get again on the accelerator. Charles Leclerc, against this, along with his very aggressive front-end setup, sacrifices rear-end stability, which places him at a drawback when exiting gradual corners, notably throughout qualifying.
The up to date ground launched at Spielberg has additionally allowed Lewis Hamilton to maneuver the automobile’s steadiness ahead—one thing that has been confirmed by Jerome D’Ambrosio, who said that the seven-time Formulation 1 world champion has just lately begun working in the identical course as Charles Leclerc, establishing the automobile with a slight oversteer bias and making it work to his benefit.
In medium- and low-speed corners, the place Charles Leclerc had made substantial enhancements from Sakhir to Montreal, Lewis Hamilton has turn into aggressive once more, acting at a degree much like his early-season kind and shutting the hole to automobile quantity 16 total.
Spielberg, being a brief observe, and Silverstone, one in every of Lewis Hamilton’s traditionally robust circuits, had been promising indicators. Nevertheless, additional affirmation remains to be wanted at upcoming races equivalent to Spa-Francorchamps and Budapest, that are two circuits the place the British driver has usually carried out effectively. Nonetheless, resolving the present rear-end instability points may present each Ferrari drivers with a extra steady platform in high-speed corners, an space that is still the workforce’s largest weak point in 2025.
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Jul 21, 2025
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