Martin Brundle offers theory for Ferrari’s ‘double trouble’ in Brazil

Martin Brundle believes Ferrari had to raise the ride height of their car during a disappointing sprint qualifying at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Ferrari struggled for competitiveness during Friday’s sprint qualifying at Interlagos, with Charles Leclerc only managing eighth behind both Aston Martins, while teammate Lewis Hamilton qualified 11th.

Leclerc only just snuck into the final part of qualifying after spinning at the end of SQ2 as he struggled with his SF-25 bottoming out around the bumpy and undulating Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace.

Ferrari have had to raise the ride height of their car at various points throughout a tough 2025 campaign and Brundle suspects the issue resurfaced in Brazil.

”The most difficult thing I heard there was Charles Leclerc saying that the car felt quite good," Brundle said. "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. So, it might be quite benign, but it just isn't fast enough.”

Fellow Sky Sports F1 pundit Jamie Chadwick added: "That car clearly isn't working. Every time there's a replay of a Ferrari, you know that it's either having a moment or looping around.

"It's looked a handful all weekend. It's frustrating. It doesn't sound like they can fully put a finger on it either, and they're pretty despondent as a result.”

Ferrari drivers lacking confidence

Leclerc said he was “not happy” with the performance of his car and admitted he had little hope of Ferrari improving their fortunes after Saturday’s sprint race.

"Not happy. 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 to improve for tomorrow,” he said.

"My lap in SQ3, the first one was pretty good. I had a rejected upshift in the last straight, so it cost like a tenth and a half. It wouldn't have been much better, maybe P7, but a tough weekend so far.

"Nothing makes me think we are out of place in terms of setup. I'll try something. Whether it's going to be better or worse, I'm not sure.”

Reflecting on his early SQ2 exit, Hamilton said: “Yeah, it definitely didn’t help, but it’s not for the lack of trying. The team thought we were a lot faster than we are.

“We gave it everything and that’s ultimately what matters most, we were just not quick enough.”