Ferrari flies to Miami for the sixth spherical of the 2025 F1 World Championship. The Florida Grand Prix will stay on the calendar till 2041, with a renewal introduced simply earlier than the beginning of the primary and solely observe session of the weekend. This American weekend marks the second Dash Race of the season, offering one other alternative to attain factors and shake issues up, very similar to Ferrari did in Shanghai with Hamilton’s victory.
FP1, first laps on soiled asphalt
The Maranello group didn’t convey any important updates to the SF-25, in contrast to Purple Bull, who launched a brand new ground on Max Verstappen‘s automobile, who has not too long ago change into a father – congratulations! Ferrari prefers to attend for a conventional weekend to hold out comparative exams and have three observe classes obtainable, a call similar to the one made final season.
The session begins with each Ferrari automobiles leaving the pits, each outfitted with Medium tires. The main target is totally on warming up the tires. The primary lap is relatively conservative, because the still-dirty asphalt supplies little grip, prompting the drivers to take a cautious method. The selection of the yellow compound serves to take care of continuity within the work and to verify the automobile’s stability.
Charles Leclerc completes a neat lap, whereas Hamilton has to make a slight correction within the second sector. On the subsequent lap, pushing tougher, Charles Leclerc loses the entrance finish getting into flip 11 and should regain management to keep away from spinning; at flip 17, he misses the apex and doesn’t shut the trajectory nicely. Total, he experiences a insecurity within the slower sections, signaling restricted grip.
Hamilton seems cleaner in his driving, and with larger precision, he manages to be barely quicker than his teammate. On the next lap, Charles Leclerc improves his driving, exhibiting extra stability within the entrance finish, particularly in flip 17. The British driver additionally appears extra in sync with the automobile, although nonetheless fighting braking, optimizing his brake shaping.
Ferrari: mechanical grip not optimized in low-speed corners
The 2 Ferrari automobiles full two extra quick laps, interspersed with a few cooling laps, concluding the primary stint. The general stability appears acceptable, although the standard issues emerge: an absence of rotation complicates the entry into some corners. Nonetheless, within the quick path modifications of the primary sector, the automobile seems to be pretty secure, with a suitable stability between the entrance and rear axles.
The difficulties enhance within the slower, extra technical sections, the place the drivers must work tougher on the steering wheel to make the automobile rotate. Particularly, Charles Leclerc notices small changes on entry, a transparent signal that mechanical grip at low speeds continues to be inadequate. This forces each drivers to compensate for the shortage of grip to take care of the perfect racing line.
To enhance efficiency, in the course of the pit cease, the mechanics alter the setup of each automobiles, specializing in trip top and the stiffness of the entrance and rear suspension. The objective is obvious: extra grip and stability, particularly in crucial sections. Leclerc returns to the observe instantly, having accomplished one much less lap within the first stint, and prepares for a managed outlap earlier than beginning his new quick lap.
Taking a look at his driving, the entrance finish seems extra responsive in sluggish corners, with larger ease in attacking the curbs, together with the ultimate nook. The changes to the stiffness appear to have improved the automobile’s entry with out compromising stability in path modifications. Nonetheless, the efficiency nonetheless wants optimization within the first sector, the place the tires wrestle to succeed in the suitable temperature window shortly.
Race tempo testing
Within the ultimate section of FP1, Ferrari focuses on simulating race tempo, loading each automobiles with a excessive quantity of gasoline. For this session, they go for Medium tires, persevering with the info assortment course of began in earlier runs. Even the laps following setup modifications are accomplished with a heavy gasoline load, with the principle objective being to judge the automobile’s habits underneath sensible race circumstances relatively than chasing the perfect lap time.
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