Lewis Hamilton has started his Ferrari career on a flier, bagging the sprint race pole at the Chinese GP weekend and converting it into victory—which was his first win for the Prancing Horse.
But the seven-time world champion was unable to carry forward the same pace into qualifying and the Grand Prix. His teammate, Charles Leclerc, gave some insights into this when he revealed that the SF-25 has a lot of room for improvement with its one-lap performance.
Quite ironically, Ferrari used to be the fastest team in qualifying trim two to three seasons ago. In 2023, they worked on improving their abysmal tire management issue and improved their race pace. But it seems to have come at a cost.
Even though Ferrari’s 2025 car has potential over a race distance, their lack of single lap pace is putting them on the back foot. “The problem is that we lose too much in qualifying,” Leclerc explained, as quoted by Motorsport-Total. Still, he lauded Hamilton for out-performing the car’s inherent weakness during the sprint shootout in Shanghai.
“Lewis did a really, really good job in the sprint qualifying, but I think he outperformed the car a little. And then we saw our true performance in the actual qualifying,” the 27-year-old added.
LEWIS HAMILTON TAKES #F1SPRINT POLE
Wow! #F1 #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/iPRaB1nHqg
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 21, 2025
Other than qualifying, the Monegasque racing ace is confident about the SF-25’s abilities in race trim. In fact, he believes that their package is on par with the pace-setting MCL39 fielded by McLaren this season.
He proved that during the 56-lap Chinese Grand Prix last Sunday by extracting quicker lap times even after suffering front-wing damage on the opening lap.
Can Leclerc’s confidence in Ferrari’s race pace pay off against McLaren?
McLaren have started this season as staunch favorites to wrap up both the Constructors’ and Drivers’ titles. After two rounds, the Woking-based team sit atop the standings with Lando Norris leading the charge on the drivers’ title front.
The MCL39 has looked like the fastest package on the grid by some considerable distance. However, Leclerc is of the opinion that Ferrari can challenge McLaren during races. “I would say that they [McLaren] are about at our level in the race trim,” he revealed.
Currently, the only issue plaguing the Maranello-based team hassling McLaren as a proper contender is their lack of pace in qualifying. A bad Saturday puts them at a considerable disadvantage on the grid, and with their relatively equal race pace, it becomes impossible for either Leclerc or Hamilton to catch up to the duo of Norris and Oscar Piastri.
“But if we start three or four positions further back, the race is almost over. That’s why we have to improve in qualifying,” concluded the #16 driver.
With the double DSQ after the Chinese GP, Ferrari sit fifth in the standings, 61 points adrift of McLaren. So, the Scuderia needs to take the initiative to fix their qualifying woes on priority.
The Japanese GP, next weekend, will be their first attempt at doing so, as one of their planned upgrade packages is reportedly coming to the Suzuka International Circuit with an overhauled floor.
