Ferrari must deliver clear signs of improvement in the upcoming Formula 1 races if they want to prevent their 2025 campaign from descending into a complete failure.
After showing strong form at the end of the 2024 Formula 1 season, Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque Charles Leclerc had been widely considered the fastest driver on the grid, helping the Italian side push McLaren to the brink in the constructors’ championship. However, despite those promising signs, the upgrades implemented by Fred Vasseur’s team over the winter appear to have pushed Ferrari in the wrong direction, with the SF-25 lacking the consistency and competitiveness that was anticipated.
Although both Charles Leclerc and new teammate Lewis Hamilton displayed improved pace at the recent Monte Carlo Grand Prix, there are concerns within Maranello that the performance might have been circuit-specific. The unique nature of the tight, twisty Monte Carlo layout has historically masked deeper car weaknesses, and Ferrari’s true form will be tested at more conventional venues.
The Italian side had the potential to start the Monaco GP with Charles Leclerc on the front row and Hamilton on the second, but a three-place grid penalty dropped the Briton from P4 to P7. The penalty stemmed from a miscommunication involving Hamilton’s race engineer Riccardo Adami, who had attempted to help him avoid impeding Max Verstappen during qualifying. As a result, Hamilton’s starting position left him unable to contend for his first podium with the Scuderia, further frustrating the seven-time world champion’s wait for success in red.
However, former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer observed a deeper concern in Hamilton’s overall race performance at Monaco that could spell trouble for Ferrari moving forward.
Palmer, while providing commentary for Channel 4 during the race, focused on how the leading five drivers managed their pace throughout the event. He noted that while Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, and Max Verstappen were all pushing hard, Hamilton was noticeably unable to match their speed. According to Palmer’s analysis, Hamilton fell nearly a pit stop behind Verstappen solely on pace, not strategy, after making an early stop and failing to maintain the same race rhythm as the front-runners.
The British former racing driver, broadcaster and journalist emphasized that the intensity at the front forced drivers like Piastri to take more risks—evident from the Australian brushing the barrier—as they tried to apply pressure and defend positions. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton simply lacked the raw performance to stay in touch, underlining a growing performance gap between him and Charles Leclerc.
Part of the Briton’s struggle on the streets of Monte Carlo was attributed to his grid position, which left him stuck behind Isack Hadjar and Fernando Alonso during the opening stages. Once he finally cleared them, the dense midfield traffic created by Racing Bulls and Williams’ alternate strategies made overtaking even more challenging. This limited his chances of closing the gap to the leading group.
Sources close to Ferrari suggest that Hamilton is still lacking confidence in the front end of the SF-25, a factor that is preventing him from pushing the car to its true limits. This issue has been a recurring theme since the start of the season and is particularly damaging when compared to Leclerc’s ability to extract more performance from the same machinery.
For team principal Fred Vasseur, the growing disparity between his two drivers is a significant concern—especially in races like Monaco, where both drivers need to deliver in harmony to apply strategic pressure. Red Bull, for instance, suffered strategically with Yuki Tsunoda unable to contribute to the race plan, leaving him isolated and ineffective. That situation highlighted just how essential it is for top teams to have two consistently competitive drivers working in tandem.
Ferrari will now look ahead with urgency, aware that their campaign could unravel without swift and effective solutions—particularly if Lewis Hamilton’s confidence in the car continues to lag behind that of his Maranello teammate.
May 30, 2025
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