Ferrari went relatively under the radar in qualifying at Suzuka, as Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton put themselves in P4 and P8 respectively on the grid.
The Scuderia were consistently slower than McLaren and Mercedes, whilst a magical lap from Verstappen showcased the absolute potential – albeit immensely difficult to extract – of the RB21.
Looking ahead to race day, Ferrari are chasing performance with an SF-25 that is slightly off the mark.
Different fortunes for Leclerc and Hamilton
Before the season began, plenty of conversation was centred around how Leclerc and Hamilton would fare against each other.
As it stands, both drivers have proven capable of delivering strong results consistently – with Hamilton already securing a Sprint race win despite his adaptation phase.
With that said, the Monegasque seems slightly more comfortable over one lap.
This seemed to ring true in qualifying today, with the 7-time Champion speaking candidly about his session:
“Obviously not good enough from my side, P8 is not great,” he told Sky Sports.
“But I was happy to get into Q3 obviously, a really tight battle out there with everyone.
“I just didn’t get great laps in Q3.
“Yes, we are running higher [clearance] than we would like.
“But everyone is in the same boat in that respect.
“Obviously after the last race, we’re a bit higher than we want to be. That’s usually the knock-on effect from a weekend like we had before.
“But Charles did an amazing lap today. For me, we went with a different direction in the set-up.
“For me, we had a lot of understeer – and couldn’t dial it out throughout qualifying.
“I’m excited, I genuinely love the rain, it’s gonna be tricky, but usually when you have a qualifying like I had – you want the rain.”
On the opposite side of the garage, Charles Leclerc was very pleased with his execution in Suzuka.
Finishing ahead of both Mercedes and putting himself on the second row surpasses most of the Scuderia’s expectations after Free Practice.
Leclerc explained after FP2 that he made important progress with set-up experimentation.
This step forward was validated in qualifying, with the 27-year-old setting a series of strong laps throughout the session.
Upgrades needed for Ferrari
Ultimately, Ferrari’s result is representative of their position in the pecking order.
Unlike previous sessions, Fred Vasseur’s team cannot say they failed to optimise the SF-25’s potential – at least with Charles Leclerc.
The car’s ceiling, at least in the Suzuka configuration, places is as fourth-fastest team.
Without a mistake in his final and only lap with fresh softs in Q2, Yuki Tsunoda could have put himself into the top 10.
Should the Japanese driver build on his promising first sessions with the RB21, Red Bull could have two drivers capable of finishing ahead of the Faenza team.
Upgrades will arrive to next week in Bahrain, which will provide further indications into Ferrari’s potential.
Suggesting that 2025 is a write-off would be far too hasty. This would certainly be premature given that other circuits should be better suited to the SF-25.
However, the Italian outfit’s problems go beyond a narrow operating window – it extends to a fundamental pack of performance.
