Lewis Hamilton silenced critics with a statement lap to put himself in Pole Position for the China Sprint Race. The 7-time Champion had the edge over Charles Leclerc, who concedes he is still chasing lap-time.
Concerns began to emerge about Ferrari’s pace after the first round in Australia – in terms of absolute performance and getting the SF-25 in a good operating window.
Hamilton’s performance should help quieten some of the doubts surrounding the Maranello squad’s 2025 project.
On the opposite side of the garage, though, Leclerc explains he still has margin to improve.
Ferrari and Leclerc will work on set-up
When Hamilton’s Ferrari move was first announced, one of the main talking points was his qualifying form.
The general consensus has been that Leclerc will enjoy an edge over the British driver over one lap – at least in the early stages of the year.
Whilst one Sprint qualifying is not enough to draw conclusions from, Hamilton’s efforts are a reminder of his calibre.
Leclerc certainly wouldn’t have underestimated the 40-year-0ld heading into this year, and will work diligently to male set-up adjustments after the Sprint Race.
Optimising the SF-25 is proving tricky in early 2025, a theme Leclerc touched upon to the media:
“I’ve struggled on my side of the garage. From the beginning I felt I was a step back compared to Lewis, and Lewis was just faster today.
“Struggled a lot in Turns 1-2-3, which was more or less the same struggles I had last year. So that was a bit of a shame.
“But apart from that, everything was quite tight. So obviously it’s a shame we start P4.
“But Lewis is on Pole and hopefully we can have a good race together tomorrow…
“We really struggled to put everything in the right window.
“At the end of the day, it felt a little bit better in qualifying but not where I wanted it to be. So still some work to be done for qualifying tomorrow.
“However in the race it’s another story, and this will only be seen tomorrow.”
A big test for Ferrari in Shanghai
Fundamentally, the SF-25 has proven a slightly less consistent machine than the engineers in Maranello would have liked.
Still, McLaren’s surprise drop-off in Sprint qualifying is evidence that every team will experience highs and lows throughout the season.
Ensuring these inconsistencies are understood and rectified quickly is the key.
Establishing a reliable baseline is of especially high importance this weekend, given the high levels of tyre degradation shown in Free Practice.
Managing tyres will be tricky in the Sprint Race, especially in the event of a multi-team battle at the front.
Crucially, Hamilton and Leclerc must ensure that tomorrow’s Sprint can inform their decisions for Sunday’s race – where strategy could once again be definitive.
Team principal Fred Vasseur stressed throughout the winter break that having two strong drivers was a major strength, regardless of any potential inter-team rivalry.
Hamilton is already showing glimpses of why Ferrari went for their all-star duo. The challenge now is to perform at a consistently high level and begin putting pressure, where possible, on McLaren.
