“We’ve taken a special path that I like. If we proceed down this path, I hope we’ll get our first podium.” On the eve of the fifth spherical of the 2025 Formulation 1 season, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc didn’t conceal a contact of optimism for a race that, on paper, ought to have suited the SF-25 single-seater higher however may even have uncovered sure limitations of the automobile.
Wanting again, Ferrari leaves the 6.174-kilometre Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia with two interlinked takeaways: the primary podium of the season supplied a morale enhance to a Maranello staff that wanted and wished to ship a sign, whereas additionally highlighting that the highway again to persistently being on the high remains to be lengthy, and relies on the upcoming aerodynamic updates.
The qualifying session on Saturday confirmed a Ferrari because the fourth-best staff, whose lack of aerodynamic load interprets right into a shortfall in efficiency when it comes time to take advantage of the automobile’s full potential. Within the race, nonetheless, the Prancing Horse got here to life, as already seen final week in Bahrain earlier than the Security Automobile, shocking even Ferrari itself.
On the finish of the race, Ferrari staff principal Frédéric Vasseur defined that he didn’t have a transparent clarification for a way and why the SF-25 carried out so properly within the ultimate part of the primary stint on medium tires, however he additionally harassed that the actual anomaly lies within the efficiency hole between qualifying and the race, figuring out single-lap tempo as one of many areas to enhance with a view to begin additional up the grid.
Beginning fourth behind George Russell had a big influence on the tempo Charles Leclerc maintained within the first a part of the race, however in a way, it was additionally the important thing that allowed for competitiveness within the ultimate a part of the stint. With out sufficient of a delta to overhaul on observe, Charles Leclerc properly saved his distance within the first twenty laps, avoiding staying within the soiled air. This had two results: the Monegasque driver needed to adapt to George Russell’s tempo, lapping on common about six tenths slower than the main duo. Not surprisingly, within the 17 laps between the top of the Security Automobile and the Briton’s pit cease, Charles Leclerc gathered over 11 seconds of hole to Max Verstappen.
Nonetheless, as soon as George Russell pitted, giving him clear air to run in, Charles Leclerc unleashed his tempo, decreasing lap occasions with a development that even shocked Ferrari, permitting them to increase the stint — an element that turned out to be essential in heading off Lando Norris’s comeback.
The attention-grabbing side is knowing the place that clear tempo enchancment got here from and the way it must be interpreted inside a broader race evaluation. Essentially the most pure reply is that this time evolution got here from pushing extra within the corners, with the attention that he may improve the tempo with out the chance of closing the hole and ending up once more in soiled air, which might have compromised the tires.
The practically six tenths common hole gathered within the first twenty laps got here from having maintained a considerably slower cornering tempo, with way more cautious throttle administration and, because of this, much less stress on the tires — each from decreased sliding and from decrease hundreds. This will also be seen when analyzing the telemetry knowledge and evaluating it with that of Max Verstappen, which exhibits not solely what has already talked about but in addition that the Ferrari SF-25 automobile was noticeably more practical on the straights, with peaks as much as 10 kilometers per hour greater; a delta due each to aerodynamic selections and a special use of engine mapping.
Though high speeds are a power of the automobile, it’s important to take a look at this knowledge extra broadly: gaining time on the straights means the time misplaced in corners was above common per lap, additional decreasing tire stress. This broader view helps clarify Charles Leclerc’s development throughout the first stint as soon as he had clear air, displaying a clearly superior tempo in comparison with George Russell as much as that time, confirming that Ferrari nonetheless had efficiency margin.
With out the Mercedes W16 automobile forward, Charles Leclerc’s tempo on mediums would have been extra “balanced” and constant all through the stint, however we might not have seen that rhythm leap that in the end outlined his efficiency — although it doesn’t take away from how robust Charles Leclerc’s lap occasions have been throughout that part. Wanting on the lap occasions, actually, Charles Leclerc was nearly in a position to match Lando Norris’s tempo throughout that clean-air part, which confirms how stable the Monegasque’s tempo was, even when, as Pirelli confirmed, the efficiency hole between medium and arduous was small. Furthermore, Lando Norris needed to push arduous on the hards earlier on to make his comeback work.
Certainly, the unknown within the equation — or maybe extra precisely, the anomaly — was Mercedes, which collapsed because of difficulties managing temperatures and thermal degradation, even triggering blistering, a phenomenon not often seen on a low-degradation observe like Jeddah, the place the principle danger has all the time been graining. That is additionally proven by the interior comparability at Mercedes: Andrea Kimi Antonelli was certainly sooner than his teammate within the ultimate part of the race, however lapped 7–8 tenths slower per lap than George Russell within the first a part of the second stint. A trade-off that confirms how totally different stint administration may shift values.
These laps in clear air proved elementary for Charles Leclerc, as they allowed him to increase the stint past preliminary forecasts, aligning with Lando Norris whereas additionally making a nine-lap delta over the Max Verstappen – Oscar Piastri duo.
This primary podium of the 2025 Formulation 1 season is actually not the dream outcome the Italian aspect was aiming for, however it’s an encouraging first step — additionally helpful to “unlock” a stat that was starting to weigh. The SF-25 is an environment friendly automobile, however one that also suffers from an absence of downforce: a shortcoming that exhibits up notably within the qualifying session, the place Ferrari has proven the best difficulties, counting on a Charles Leclerc typically driving on the restrict.
Progress inevitably relies on including “balanced” downforce, which ought to present a efficiency bounce each in qualifying and the race. However it’s now clear that, to make the leap — not simply in remoted instances, in a broader image that may even apply to Pink Bull — working solely on setup is not sufficient, because the Monegasque is already extracting the utmost from it. One thing extra concrete is due to this fact wanted.
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