Alexandre
The start of the 2025 season of Formula 1on the Melbourne circuit, was eagerly awaited by the Scuderia Ferrari and its drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. After encouraging winter testing and a positive first day of free practiceThe Italian team was hoping to join the battle for pole position. However, the SF-25 failed to deliver in qualifying, leaving McLaren with a one-two finish and relegating Ferrari to the fourth row of the grid. Fred Vasseur, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton looked back on this setback and tried to explain the reasons behind it.
Fred Vasseur: "The season is not decided by a single qualifying session".
Scuderia Team Principal, Frédéric VasseurHe made no secret of his disappointment after the qualifying session. Ferrari ended up nearly seven tenths behind McLaren, a gap that he believes does not fully reflect the SF-25's potential:
" In Q1 and Q2, we were close to McLaren. Our times weren't spectacular, but we were in the fight. Then we lost some pace in Q3, and that's a shame. "
The Frenchman reminds us, however, that the season has only just begun and that nothing is lost:
" The season isn't over; it's only a qualifying session. There aren't seven tenths between us and McLaren. It's more like between one and three tenths, as in every session except Q3, when we missed something and missed the final lap. "
Fred Vasseur is counting on the race to turn things around. He also points out that Ferrari showed a decent pace on the long stints during Friday's free practice, which gives him hope, even if the rain could upset the situation:
" When you start seventh and eighth, you sometimes hope for a chaotic race, and the rain can help. But I'm convinced that we can make up ground even in dry conditions. We were competitive in the long stints. "
Lewis Hamilton: "I had to adapt a lot to this new car".
For his arrival at Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton was hoping to hit the ground running in its first qualifier of the season. Unfortunately, learning the SF-25 proved more complex than expected, as he explained to the Sky Italia cameras:
" I'm pleased with the progress we made over the weekend. We optimized the car and made a lot of progress, but I was far from the frontrunners because the car behaves very differently from the Mercedes I've been driving for years. It took me some time to adapt and gain confidence. "
In particular, the Englishman pointed to the difficulty in managing the SF-25's balance in the third sector, where Ferrari suffered particularly badly:
" In Q3, tire temperature had a big impact. On the first attempt, with worn tires, everything was going well until the last corner. With new tires, I was also on track, but as soon as the wind changed, the temperatures dropped and the car's balance changed completely. "
As for the outlook for the race, Lewis Hamilton remains confident:
" For tomorrow, we have room for improvement. I think we can do better in race conditions, and we'll see how the weather develops. "
Charles Leclerc: "We knew why we were sacrificing performance".
One of the Scuderia's great hopes for several seasons, Charles Leclerc was one of the first to let the SF-25 shine on Friday. But the Monegasque found himself in trouble in the final phase of qualifying, making a mistake on his second run in Q3 that prevented him from improving his time. Despite his disappointment, he insists he understands the reasons for this result:
" Overall, we didn't perform as well as yesterday. I think I know why, but you have to analyze the data. We had to sacrifice a bit of performance. It's obviously not what we want, but it was the right decision to make for this weekend. "
Could the rain forecast for the race be the key to this strategic choice? Charles Leclerc hints at this without saying too much:
" Seventh and eighth are really disappointing. Even in the worst-case scenario, I wasn't expecting this. As I've been saying since the start of the season, this is just a starting point, it's a long season. We mustn't count on miracles in the first race, but rather score points and progress step by step. I'm convinced that this car has potential, even if we weren't in the right window today. "
As for the race, Leclerc, like Vasseur and Hamilton, hopes to reverse the trend:
" There's a lot of uncertainty about tomorrow, but I'm going to give it my all as always. I'll try to get the best possible result. "
Towards a rematch in the race?
Although the Scuderia Ferrari team was disappointed by its lacklustre qualifying, it refused to give up. With the weather uncertain, the progress made during the long stints and the motivation of its drivers intact, the Maranello-based team is confident of its chances of bouncing back in the race. The outcome of this first Grand Prix of the season promises to be all the more exciting as McLaren has struck a blow, proving that the competition will be tough for the Scuderia throughout the year. Ferrari's mission is twofold: to score as many points as possible, and to prove that the setback in qualifying was just a blip on the road.