The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix of Formula 1 on the ultra-fast Jeddah circuit was to mark a turning point for Ferrari. Instead, faces were long in the red clan. On the one hand, Charles Leclerc, despite qualifying in fourth place, made no secret of his disappointment. On the other, Lewis Hamilton, relegated to seventh place, spoke plainly: he says he's "lost" with this car.
Leclerc lucid and bitter: "We lack potential".
With a gap of almost 4 tenths over Max Verstappen, who took pole position and set a new circuit record, Charles Leclerc gave his all in qualifying. He even came close to the wall on several occasions to get the most out of his SF-25. And yet, the Monegasque wasn't satisfied at all.
"It's a big disappointment, because this is a circuit where we had high expectations. Today's result confirms that we're lacking potential overall," he said bluntly.
These weighty remarks run counter to the often optimistic discourse of the head of the ScuderiaFrédéric Vasseur, who insists that the single-seater still has untapped potential. Leclerc, for his part, seems to have found a setting that suits him... but which makes the car very difficult to drive.
"I've found a steering that allows me to perform well in qualifying, but this setting makes the car very difficult to drive. I almost hit the walls a few times," he explained, suggesting that Ferrari is still a long way from an optimum solution.
Hamilton stalls: "We're lost this weekend".
The situation of Lewis Hamilton is even more worrying. Having struggled since free practice, the Brit never seemed in a position to fight for the front rows. He finished 7th, almost a second off pole... and even behind Carlos Sainz's Williams, ironically.
"We were lost this weekend. I wasn't even able to make much progress session after session," he admitted, clearly at a loss for solutions.
Already in the background in Bahrain, Hamilton continues to struggle to find his feet with the SF-25. His driving style, inherited from his Mercedes years, seems difficult to adapt to the new Ferrari. Despite this, he remains combative:
"I'm happy to have got through to Q3, it was far from guaranteed. I'm grateful, even if I still have a lot of work to do to adapt. Maybe I'm so stuck in my style that it'll never change, but I'm doing everything I can behind the scenes."
A Scuderia with two faces
The contrast between the two drivers is striking: Leclerc is finding performance, but at the cost of driving at the limit, and Hamilton is still looking for the basics. While Ferrari has made slight progress since Bahrain, the gap with Red Bull remains enormous.
The question now is clear: does the SF-25 really have the potential to unlock... or is it already at the maximum of what it can offer? The answer will come in the next few races, but for the time being, doubts outnumber certainties in Maranello. The decision by focusing on the car of 2026 will probably come sooner than expected.
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