Within just 24 hours, the mood surrounding Lewis Hamilton`s debut race for Ferrari in Italy completely changed. Saturday at Imola was bleak: Charles Leclerc and Hamilton failed to reach Q3, finishing qualifying in 11th and 12th place. Seven other teams performed better, with only Haas and Sauber failing to qualify ahead of the Ferraris. This is poor for Ferrari anywhere, but especially so at a track just over 50 miles from their Maranello base. On Saturday, Hamilton described himself as `devastated`.
However, by Sunday, his outlook had transformed. Hamilton finished fourth, aided by a different tire strategy and excellent decisions from the Ferrari pit wall during a late safety car phase, which helped him climb through the field.
Hamilton felt this result and recovery were more significant than his sprint race win earlier in the season at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Comparing it to China, he stated on Sunday, `This one feels better.` He added, `I`ve always enjoyed battling from behind and gaining positions. That`s how I raced as a child, and it`s a more rewarding feeling than starting and finishing first. It was a truly great race with numerous positives.`
What exactly were these positives?
`Plenty,` Hamilton replied. `Firstly, the strategy was fantastic. They made excellent calls and didn`t make any mistakes. The car was very supportive. I felt a strong connection with the car in China, and then again today. There was a true synergy. I believe the setup was excellent, and we slightly improved our performance. We were simply eliminated early in qualifying. If we had qualified strongly, we could have contended for a podium, which we hadn`t anticipated being possible.`
While it was a strong recovery, it`s important to maintain perspective. The weekend was still revealing, and Ferrari`s raw pace didn`t suggest they were podium contenders. Hamilton often expresses strong emotions based on his latest result, and as he noted, his race finish had the satisfaction of progressing through the field late on.
The timing of the safety car significantly benefited him but hurt others. Its appearance led to Aston Martin`s Fernando Alonso lamenting he was the `unluckiest driver in the f—ing world.`
Conversely, the safety car hindered Hamilton`s teammate, Charles Leclerc. His choice not to pit for new tires left him vulnerable to Alex Albon`s charging Williams towards the end. Leclerc, often seen as the face of Ferrari`s F1 struggles, gave a more balanced assessment of the team`s performance on Sunday evening when discussing his race.
Leclerc told Sky Sports F1, `This was a race where you needed to race with passion and be slightly aggressive.` He added, `I know in these situations, you push hard, sometimes a bit too hard. But starting P11, personally, I can`t accept our position.`
This feeling of frustration is likely familiar to Leclerc. A year prior, he was on the Imola podium behind Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, but this year he departed the circuit 85 points adrift of championship leader Oscar Piastri. Ferrari currently holds fourth place in the constructors` standings, trailing Piastri`s McLaren team by 165 points.
This outcome wasn`t anticipated. Ferrari entered the season following a close battle with McLaren for the constructors` championship last year, and boosted by Hamilton`s arrival. Their car was expected to challenge for the title, but now 2025 appears to be mainly about salvaging results. Annoyingly, there`s believed to be untapped potential in this year`s car, despite its darker red livery.
When asked when the SF-25 performs optimally, Leclerc responded, `In the race, but not before. We haven`t figured out why yet.`
This adds to the frustration, as last year the team seemed to have finally grasped the car`s ideal operating window. Leclerc was key to Ferrari`s improved performance in the latter part of last season, with the team looking much stronger after the summer break.
The turnaround stemmed from Ferrari finding a great balance – performing well in qualifying but, importantly, even better in races. This provided Leclerc, considered by many as the best qualifier in F1, with a solid foundation to compete for wins weekly. In past seasons, Ferrari cars excelled in qualifying but often struggled in races, leading to errors from drivers and the pit wall (both under significant pressure) while trying to compensate. Leclerc`s wins at Monza and Austin, plus Carlos Sainz`s victory in Mexico City, offered a promising preview of what the team could achieve with a versatile car.
This optimal balance seems to be missing this year. Hamilton has frequently mentioned changes implemented after his China sprint win, which he believes have negatively impacted performance. Difficulty warming up the tires seems to be a primary challenge the team is facing this season.
Team principal Frédéric Vasseur commented after the Imola race, `We are clearly focused on getting the most out of the car on Saturdays. In the past two weekends, we haven`t improved on our final tire set in qualifying. This is somewhat frustrating for us, and we certainly need to concentrate all our efforts on resolving it.`
Ferrari supporters (the tifosi) can perhaps find reassurance knowing that if a solution to the lack of pace on Saturdays can be found swiftly, Ferrari could see a significant improvement.
Given the qualifying issues, the upcoming Monaco race will be a significant test. The tight and twisting Monte Carlo circuit is renowned for qualifying heavily influencing the race outcome – a factor unlikely to change, even with the new mandatory two-stop rule intended to enhance the spectacle.
Leclerc famously ended his home race struggles in Monaco last year but isn`t anticipating a similar result this time.
He described his expectations for the weekend in Monaco as `a very difficult weekend.` He elaborated, `I think Monaco highlights several weaknesses of our car, so I`m unsure, but there are also many unpredictable factors. The level of risk taken in qualifying is high, and the car setup is very different, so I hope we might be pleasantly surprised.`
