For Ferrari, an necessary weekend begins: the System 1 Canadian Grand Prix. The Maranello staff, after two consecutive podiums in Monaco and the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, each achieved by Charles Leclerc, is named upon to silence with outcomes the latest rumors suggesting that staff principal Frederic Vasseur could possibly be out on the finish of the 2025 System 1 season. Each drivers have defended the French supervisor’s work and need to shut ranks by attempting to present their most.
The SF-25 single-seater has carried out decently in latest outings, at the least by way of race tempo, however the efficiency continues to be removed from the expectations at the beginning of the season. For that reason, Frederic Vasseur’s identify has been extensively mentioned, as has that of the Monegasque driver, who wished to disclaim any rumors of a doable departure, as soon as once more professing his everlasting love for the Prancing Horse.
Let’s now take an in depth have a look at how occasions unfolded for Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton within the first free observe session on the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal:
The Ferrari drivers are of their vehicles and, after the standard pre-session checks, depart the pit lane to start their first run on the Canadian circuit. Each SF-25 vehicles are fitted with crimson compound Pirelli tires for this preliminary part. The gearbox is ready to the GX3 mapping, designed to permit quick however not overly aggressive gear modifications. Lewis Hamilton instantly goes on the assault towards the stopwatch, whereas Charles Leclerc opts for a preparation lap to carry the C6 tires as much as temperature.
The primary laps are cautious, with the drivers assessing the monitor circumstances, made even trickier by the site visitors on the circuit. Ferrari shows its typical traits: slight understeer on nook entry and a lackluster response within the slower route modifications. Whereas Lewis Hamilton appears to wrestle to maintain the tires within the optimum window, his Maranello teammate seems more practical in temperature administration, particularly on the tire floor.
Within the first two sectors, Charles Leclerc nonetheless can’t discover very best grip, however within the third sector, he’s already among the many quickest. It stays to be seen whether or not that is as a result of chosen setup or just a delay in tire activation. His sector instances steadily enhance within the following laps between the primary and second sectors, indicating that it was extra a matter of confidence and adapting to the monitor, mixed with a extra progressive use of the compounds.
Nevertheless, every little thing involves a halt because of an incident involving Charles Leclerc, who locks up his entrance proper in Flip 3. The Monegasque goes onto the grass, can’t steer the automobile, and hits the within wall with the entrance left, additionally damaging the rear left, thus destroying a lot of the left facet of his SF-25. Crimson flag, and session over for the 27-year-old driver.
Charles Leclerc makes a easy mistake, a lapse in focus that penalizes him closely simply as he was gaining extra confidence with the automobile. An actual disgrace, contemplating the progress proven. About ten minutes later, the session resumes, and Lewis Hamilton instantly returns to the monitor with one other set of Tender tires. After not even a full lap, the Briton additionally loses management of his automobile: underneath braking at Flip 10, the rear finish steps out and he spins, fortuitously with out injury.
He returns to the pits to mount a brand new set of tires. General, Ferrari’s traction appears stable, however it’s clear that dealing with nonetheless wants fine-tuning. The shortage of rotation continues to be a weak point, the identical one which led Charles Leclerc to the error and the crash into the boundaries. In comparison with his Maranello teammate, the Briton nonetheless wants to seek out the proper feeling with the automobile, however at the least he didn’t crash.
Upon his return to the monitor, Lewis Hamilton exhibits no clear enchancment in lap instances. He additionally stories a problem with the delta on the steering wheel and receives directions from the pit wall to alter his method to Turns 3 and 10: enter extra slowly to achieve higher exit acceleration. Within the last part of the session, the staff focuses on a race tempo simulation with a excessive gas load, important for analyzing tire conduct underneath extra reasonable circumstances.
The simulation consists of 11 consecutive laps, throughout which the SF-25 seems usually secure however nonetheless barely unsure on nook entry. The lap instances stay pretty constant, with a quick opening lap in 1.16.9, adopted by laps within the low 1.17s. In abstract, the potential is there, however extra work is required on the steadiness entrance. The objective is to discover a setup that enables the automobile to maximise efficiency by higher managing each understeer and oversteer, making the automobile extra responsive and aggressive.
—- see video above —
Purchase official Ferrari F1 merchandise!
Let different Scuderia Followers learn about us
