The Australian Grand Prix officially opened the 2025 Formula 1 season. It resulted in McLaren fans celebrating Lando Norris’ 5th career win. The day wasn’t so joyous for the Tifosi. They were forced to watch Ferrari go from bad to worse as the weekend progressed. All the team’s efforts resulted in only five points being scored between its two drivers.
With the experience of Lewis Hamilton and the raw one-lap speed of Charles Leclerc, the team was hoping for a good qualifying result. After testing, it seemed that the pace of the SF-25 didn’t match up to that of MCL39. Still, there was a chance that it would be enough to get at least a second-row lockup.
The first two rounds of qualifying looked promising. They saw both drivers achieving times comparable to those of their immediate opponents (Max Verstappen and George Russell). When the time came for the third one, fans hoped to see at least one of them put their foot in the fight for pole.
Unfortunately, that ended up not being the case. Hamilton and Leclerc both finished Q3 with less-than-desirable times. Leclerc was higher than his teammate, with a time over half a second slower than that of the pole sitter, Norris. The Ferrari drivers qualified 7th and 8th. They were to begin Sunday’s race not only behind Verstappen and Russell, but also behind two midfielders, Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon.
The only light at the end of the dark tunnel were the rumors that Ferrari was preparing itself for the wet race ahead. Supposedly, they had chosen a setup that they knew wouldn’t work too well during qualifying but would give them an advantage during the race. There was still a chance for the team to finish the weekend with a satisfying result
The Australian Grand Prix itself started with Leclerc making up two places before the first lap ended. He didn’t get the chance to do much more, as soon after, a long safety car period began. The Ferrari drivers were stuck at 5th and 8th. They would stay there for the better part of the race.
The big turn of events came after a second burst of rain, around lap 44. At that point, both cars were on slick tires. Although Leclerc lost a few positions after a small spin, the two drivers found themselves at the very front of the field. This was mostly due to the fact that all others peeled into the pits and bolted on the rain-compatible intermediates. Ferrari strategists decided to keep Leclerc and Hamilton out much longer than most other teams would dare, hoping to gain a strategic advantage.
That turned out to be a wrong call. The track was too wet for the slick tires. The Ferraris had no choice but to stop by the pit stops. The decision to stay out for so long had cost them quite a few places. They emerged at the back of the top 10, and stayed around there until the checkered flag waved. Leclerc managed to move up one place, while Hamilton stayed in the last point-scoring position.
The bad strategy and lack of luck led to a terrible start to the 2025 season. Ferrari scored fewer points than most other teams and is now 7th in the team standings. This is not a position that a team fighting for a championship wants to find itself in. It is not the first time the Italian team destroyed its race through terrible strategy calls. Could this be a sign of another season of disappointment for the committed Tifosi?
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