{"id":31489,"date":"2025-03-15T15:29:14","date_gmt":"2025-03-15T19:29:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=31489"},"modified":"2025-03-15T15:39:08","modified_gmt":"2025-03-15T19:39:08","slug":"ferrari-gamble-with-wet-set-up-for-australian-gp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/03\/15\/ferrari-gamble-with-wet-set-up-for-australian-gp\/","title":{"rendered":"Ferrari gamble with wet set-up for Australian GP"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ferrari failed to live up to the hype<\/strong> in the first qualifying session of 2025, as Charles Leclerc<\/a> and Lewis Hamilton could only manage P7 and P8 respectively.<\/p>\n

The SF-25 looked strong during the first two parts of qualifying, but ultimately lacked the pace to match Red Bull, Mercedes and – most emphatically – McLaren when it really counted.<\/p>\n

Although there are legitimate weaknesses to address, Ferrari are optimistic about their chances on race day<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Ferrari behind McLaren, but failed to optimise SF-25<\/h4>\n

Even before qualifying in Albert Park, Ferrari were not the favourites to take Pole Position.<\/p>\n

McLaren<\/a>, whose best efforts could not hide the MCL39’s excellent pace in testing, were always expected to be the reference this weekend<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The question was which team would be their closest challenger – and what the deficit would be.<\/p>\n

For much of the weekend, Ferrari seemed like plausible candidates to fill this role. Both in qualifying and race simulations, the SF-25 was competitive in Friday Practice.<\/p>\n

However, as seen in glimpses during testing<\/a>, Ferrari’s 2025 challenger is a few steps behind the MCL39<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The SF-25 has also been prone to swings in performance<\/strong>, at least in the early stages of the year.<\/p>\n

Even Mercedes appear slightly more stable<\/a>, with a W16 machine that is proving more predictable than its predecessor.<\/p>\n

Speaking post-session, Charles Leclerc admitted that Ferrari’s pace was disappointing:<\/p>\n

“I mean the first lap was pretty good, the second lap wasn’t as good – it felt messy.<\/em><\/p>\n

“But all in all, we just didn’t have the pace<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

“I was trying to find more but that pushed me to do a few mistakes. The rear was quite unstable so we struggled quite a bit, which is a shame.<\/em><\/p>\n

“Before coming here, we were definitely expecting to be on the back foot.<\/em><\/p>\n

“But after the Friday, we thought that there was maybe a bit more pace in the car<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

“At the end, it wasn\u2019t the case.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Ferrari prepared for wet conditions<\/h4>\n

In the build-up to this weekend’s action, the possibility of rain on Sunday has been relatively constant.<\/p>\n

Most forecasts suggest rain will impact the race tomorrow, although there is some divergence on its intensity.<\/p>\n

Curiously, the latest data suggests there will be less rain in Melbourne than first anticipated.<\/p>\n

Regardless, it is understood that Ferrari made set-up changes on Friday in anticipation of wet conditions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Maranello squad made some decision that compromised their absolute potential in qualifying – in the hope of being better placed for adverse conditions in the Grand Prix.<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>