Charles Leclerc opened up about the limitations of the SF-25 and the qualifying woes that Ferrari have been grappling with before he was disqualified from the F1 Chinese GP due to failing post-race scrutineering checks.
Apart from Lewis Hamilton’s stunning Sprint pole in Shanghai, the Ferrari drivers have failed to qualify in the top three so far in 2025, and their troubles appear to be indicative of a persistent problem that the Scuderia also encountered last year.
Following in the footsteps of the SF-24, which famously fared better on Sundays than its immediate predecessors, the SF-25 has proved to be a tricky car to handle over a single lap, and both Leclerc and Hamilton have struggled to extract its full potential in the final segment of qualifying.
Ferrari losing ground due to difficulties in qualifying
Speaking in the print media zone after Sunday’s race in Shanghai, Leclerc addressed whether the challenges Ferrari faced in 2024 with regard to qualifying have materialised once again this year.
Acknowledging that their cars have performed considerably better over race distance since the beginning of last season, the Monégasque remarked that they need to take a step forward in qualifying to capitalise on the SF-25’s superior race pace and challenge their rivals.
“It’s true that since a year and a half, basically the trend has been completely inverted compared to the years before where we had a really good qualifying car and then in the race we were struggling.
“Now, since the beginning of 2024, we are very fast in the race, but struggling in quali.
“We need to find that balance because we are paying the price of not being on top of things in quali.”
Leclerc believes SF-25’s limitations in qualifying don’t indicate an inherent design flaw
In terms of whether they can modify the set-up parameters to claw back some performance in qualifying or whether the current limitations of the SF-25 are fundamental, Leclerc responded that Ferrari have yet to arrive at a conclusion.
Nonetheless, the eight-time race winner expressed doubts about the premise that a design feature could lead to such variations in performance over shorter and longer runs.
Leclerc surmised that Ferrari can maximise the potential of the SF-25 by further optimising it for qualifying and also finding the right set-up window to strike a balance between their one-lap gains and long-run pace.
“It’s a good question. I wish I had the answer for now. We are trying to look for the right answer to that problem. We don’t really have them yet.
“I mean, I wouldn’t see how a design feature would make people feel [the car] in short runs and not in long runs.
“So, my opinion is something more about the optimisation of the car for the short run and finding the balance with the setup between the two.
“But we’ll work on that.”
