Ferrari’s rollercoaster 2025 season took another painful dip in Brazil as both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton struggled through a tough Sprint Qualifying session at Interlagos. The famous red cars looked out of sync once again on a track that exposed their weaknesses, and a costly mistake from Leclerc only made matters worse.
Ferrari’s Tough Friday in Brazil
The drama began early in the practice session when Hamilton’s SF-25 car bottomed out through Mergulho and sent him into a wild 720-degree spin, and just a few corners earlier, Leclerc also had his own moment during the Sprint Qualifying session. The Monegasque driver spun during his run in SQ2, which brought out yellow flags and ruined Hamilton’s final chance to set another lap.
The spin meant Hamilton crossed the finish line after the checkered flag flew and left him stuck in 11th place, but even without the yellow flags, things weren’t looking good for the seven-time world champion. “The team thought we were a lot faster than we are and we gave it everything,” Hamilton said after the session. “And that’s ultimately what matters most, we just weren’t quick enough.”
On the other hand, Leclerc just barely managed to scrape through to SQ3, but that was about as good as it got for him, as his best time left him only eighth on the grid. “I’m not happy,” he admitted. “The car was very slow today. It didn’t feel that bad but we are slow, so we’ve got something to work on and to try and improve for tomorrow.”
The Prancing Horse’s Struggles Continue During the Brazil GP
Ferrari’s issues this season have a lot to do with the design of their SF-25, as the car performs best when it runs close to the ground, but on a track like Interlagos, which is bumpy and uneven, that setup simply doesn’t work. The suspension and aerodynamics can’t cope with the changing gradient, and when Ferrari raises the ride height to stop the car from bottoming out, it loses speed and balance.
Other teams like Red Bull and McLaren have figured out how to manage that tricky balance, but Ferrari is still struggling to find the sweet spot, as is evident from their struggles, and the SF-25 just has not been able to deliver the kind of stability and downforce the team was hoping for.
Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle pointed out something important: “The most difficult thing I heard there was Charles Leclerc saying that the car felt quite good. When the car feels quite good and you’re slow, you’re in double trouble. The Ferrari we know needs to run extremely low and I’m thinking that the dips here and the bumps mean that they’ve had to lift that.”
Hamilton’s frustration was visible too; he is still waiting for his first podium with Ferrari and knows the road ahead isn’t getting easier. “I’m 11th now, so I just have to have some fun from there. I think at this point it’s literally just about having fun. It’s not going well for my side, my year, and I just have to just enjoy it wherever I am. And that’s all I can do.”
Ferrari’s decision to run both drivers on just one hard tyre in the only practice session didn’t help either, as it was meant to save options for the weekend, but it left them underprepared when it mattered most.
For now, Ferrari has some serious work to do before Saturday’s Sprint and the main race, as the car’s lack of speed and balance leaves little hope of a sudden turnaround, though the team will be allowed to tweak setups before Grand Prix qualifying.
Leclerc’s early spin and Hamilton’s misery might have grabbed the headlines, but the bigger story is Ferrari’s ongoing struggle to unlock the car’s potential, and after promising signs in Austin and Mexico, Brazil suddenly feels like a big step backward.
