a driving model evaluation amid SF-25 traits

April 27, 2025

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That Ferrari isn’t performing nicely on this begin of the 2025 Method 1 championship is sadly a tragic actuality that we’ve got to just accept. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc had hoped to drive a extra stable and secure automotive after the excessive expectations within the winter interval earlier than the pre-season testing session on the Bahrain circuit. As an alternative, the SF-25 single-seater has many flaws that the Maranello workforce is attempting to repair with the primary substantial aerodynamic replace package deal which is deliberate for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on the Imola circuit. In the meantime, Charles Leclerc has developed a driving approach that permits him to extract the utmost potential, and the outcomes are evident. The British driver, alternatively, is struggling considerably.

The Ferrari workforce has given their all, after all, however as for the seven-time Method 1 world champion, there’s a restrict he simply can’t shake off. A few years spent with Mercedes and an sad adjustment to the Italian facet: these are the primary causes at present slowing down the Englishman. However the Maranello workforce has promised most effort to help him.

There are not any doubts about this; in any case, we’re speaking a few true asset of the workforce that should someway be protected. Claiming that the British driver is not able to performing nicely appears fairly silly. He’s in important issue. Nonetheless, his flash of brilliance within the Chinese language Dash, with pole place and dash victory, confirms his worth. He wants to provide extra, that’s true. We wait with hope.

At the moment, we delve into a specific evaluation with a purpose to attempt to clarify the efficiency hole between the 2 Ferrari drivers. We all the time begin with the onboard footage, the one true device able to offering all the main points on a Method 1 driver’s driving model, combining it with telemetry knowledge. By consulting these figures, averaging the 2 totally different stints on the 6.174-kilometre Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia, we discover a number of key findings on observe.

We’ve got achieved this by means of every particular person measurement of pace, gaps, and throttle throughout the runs, offering an outline of the actions associated to the motive force throughout the time interval in query. From this evaluation, a number of key factors emerge. The primary necessary remark: all through the stint, Lewis Hamilton was among the many first to raise his foot off the throttle throughout braking to anticipate as a lot as doable the second when he would reapply the fuel.

Attributable to Ferrari’s continual understeer, the Briton tries to restrict the entry to focus higher on the exit, whereas the Monegasque adopts a special method: he’s nearly all the time one of many final to raise off the throttle, and because of this, delays his re-application of the fuel throughout the exit section. This highlights two necessary facets. The primary is the truth that Charles Leclerc has developed a braking model that permits him to deliver the automotive to the restrict throughout entry.

The second is that Lewis Hamilton is at present attempting to compensate for the continual problems with the SF-25 automotive with a driving model that’s not efficient in any respect. Throughout the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, there have been a number of radio communications concerning this facet, each within the first and second stints: his race engineer Riccardo Adami knowledgeable the Briton the place he was shedding time, typically reminding him to work on the so-called “peak and launch.”

With Method 1 vehicles, the purpose is all the time to speed up exhausting, then completely handle the discharge of the pedal earlier than reaching the apex. Lewis Hamilton was unable to optimize this facet. For instance, in flip 22 alone, he misplaced round two-tenths to his Maranello teammate throughout braking. The strain profile on the pedal has but to be perfected, so there’s nonetheless work to be achieved.

Trying extra particularly, it’s noticeable that the seven-time Method 1 world champion misplaced a major quantity of floor within the varied “snake” sections of the Saudi Arabian observe. In these sections, characterised by speedy route adjustments, he confirmed a somewhat unstable rear of the automotive, the place the SF-25 automotive’s inherent lack of rotation typically was oversteer throughout the exit section. This pressured him right into a extra conservative driving model.

Usually, the unstable load of an F1 automotive undermines the motive force’s confidence. Nonetheless, the Monegasque manages to manage the rear finish due to glorious sensitivity, a results of a few years spent unloading the rear to go quicker on the straights. Lewis Hamilton loses a major quantity of minimal pace, not solely in comparison with his teammate however particularly to Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri.

This distinction in method inevitably results in totally different calls for on the tire compounds. By requiring much less throughout braking, the entrance finish of the automotive receives much less vitality, thus limiting the temperature buildup on this axle. It’s no coincidence that, after the pit cease on the finish of the primary stint on Medium tires, automotive quantity 44 confirmed clear indicators of graining on the front-left tire.

Within the picture beneath, the “black stripe” on the within of the tread is clearly seen, a displaced place as a result of static camber imposed on the tire. By demanding extra throughout entry, Charles Leclerc manages the entrance finish nicely, although he too was struggling till George Russell got here in for a pit cease, permitting him to run in clear air. A mixture of small elements that, in the long run, limits the lifespan of the tire.