Not only uncompetitive pace: a series of problems emerged for Ferrari after…read more
Ferrari’s Australian Grand Prix weekend in Melbourne turned out to be a nightmare, leaving the team with many questions and little time to find solutions. The 5.278-kilometre Albert Park Circuit proved to be a challenging environment for the Scuderia, and the performance of their SF-25 car fell far short of expectations. Following a difficult qualifying session, the team’s race performance highlighted multiple issues, both technical and strategic, which prevented them from capitalizing on their car’s potential.
Throughout the race, Ferrari’s performance was significantly outpaced by rivals, with Charles Leclerc finishing the first 27 laps trailing McLaren’s Lando Norris by 36 seconds, Max Verstappen by 19 seconds, and George Russell by 6 seconds. Despite hopes of improvement during the race, the pairing of Ferrari’s SF-25 with the Albert Park track was far from ideal. The car struggled with various factors, including setup issues, difficulty in adapting to the track surface, and the fluctuating weather conditions, making it hard to pinpoint the root cause. Ferrari’s team principal, Frederic Vasseur, acknowledged that they had failed to extract the full potential from their car, stressing that this was a collective shortcoming that the team needed to address moving forward.
Strategic errors also contributed to Ferrari’s woes. The team’s pit calls were notably delayed, especially when they waited an extra lap before calling in both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, following a safety car situation involving Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoletowent. This delay cost the team valuable positions, dropping them from potential fourth and fifth finishes to eighth and tenth by the end of the race. Leclerc himself remarked that the team would need to review their decisions and make sure they were more decisive in future races, particularly in similar circumstances.
Moreover, communication issues appeared to plague the team during the race. Lewis Hamilton, still adjusting to Ferrari after his switch from Mercedes, seemed disconnected in several moments. The veteran driver appeared tentative in head-to-head battles and struggled with some of the team’s new procedures, which led to confusion during the race. Although it’s understandable that adapting to a new team after twelve seasons would present challenges, Hamilton’s performance was unexpectedly uncharacteristic of a seven-time world champion. The British driver admitted to struggling with the balance of the car but noted that the race was still valuable for his learning curve, helping him understand the car better in various weather conditions.
Despite the disappointing outcome, Ferrari is hopeful that the atypical weather and track conditions in Melbourne played a significant role in their struggles. The team remains optimistic that the performance issues will not carry over to the next race at the Shanghai International Circuit. They are eager to get back on track, with hopes of recapturing the performance levels they showed during Friday’s free practice sessions. While it’s impossible to say for sure, there is the possibility that China will present a different scenario, potentially allowing Ferrari to regain their competitive edge.
As the team looks ahead to the upcoming race, it is clear that the Australian Grand Prix served as a wake-up call. Ferrari will need to quickly address the many challenges they encountered and come up with solutions to avoid repeating the mistakes that contributed to their underwhelming performance in Melbourne.
