Ferrari boss is brutally honest about shortcomings for Lewis Hamilton’s car

Fred Vasseur delivered a frank assessment of where Ferrari’s 2025 car is going wrong after the F1 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.

Ferrari enjoyed a better Sunday at Imola in front of their adoring Tifosi than they might have expected.

A horrendous qualifying left Charles Leclerc 11th on the starting grid, and Lewis Hamilton 12th.

Team principal Vasseur had vowed to take “risks” with his race strategy - and was repaid with Hamilton finishing fourth, and Leclerc sixth.

Hamilton was only 1.4s short of the podium, with only Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and the McLarens ahead of him.

Ferrari honest about SF-25 limitation

“The positive side of this is that the pace was strong from the beginning to the end,” Vasseur told Sky Sports afterwards.

“The strategy was good, and was well-executed.

“There is a bit of frustration because I think if we had started the race in a better position, then we could have done better.”

Vasseur was clear that the problems blighting Hamilton’s debut season wearing red occur on a Saturday, not a Sunday.

He said: “The last three or four events, we have this delta between quali pace and race pace.

“In Jeddah, we were the fastest on track in the race. And three tenths off in quali.

“In Miami, it was the same delta. This weekend, probably the same.

“We don’t have the best car. Max was fastest, clearly.

“But we are really close in these conditions. We need to make a step in quali.”

Last year, Hamilton was significantly out-qualified by then-Mercedes teammate George Russell.

He has carried those difficulties in F1 qualifying across to 2025 in a Ferrari.

But the struggles on the other side of the garage, from Leclerc who is famously rapid over a single lap, suggest the SF-25 is at least partly to blame.

Hamilton had left Imola “devastated” on Saturday after a terrible session in front of his team’s fans.

But in the grand prix, Hamilton’s excellent drive to P4 left him jubilant. He even pointed out the calmer nature of his team radio communication with race engineer Riccardo Adami, which has previously been scrutinised.

Ferrari justify Charles Leclerc v Alex Albon decision

Leclerc could have finished a place higher but Ferrari asked him to give a position back to Williams’ Alex Albon in the latter stages.

Leclerc was being investigated for a clash with the oncoming Albon but, rather than risk it, Ferrari nullified any FIA intervention by letting the Williams driver pass.

Leclerc was inevitably unhappy and insisted he had done nothing wrong.

Vasseur justified his call: “We were under investigation.

“Our understanding of the situation was that it was on the edge.

“A [five-second penalty] would have lost us four or five positions. It made more sense to give up one.

“I had good reason to do it today.”