The Formula 1 world never pauses, and for Scuderia Ferrari, drama is a constant shadow.
After a disappointing Bahrain Grand Prix that yielded fourth and fifth-place finishes, the Maranello squad faces intense scrutiny heading into the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Whispers of early challenges in Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari journey only amplify the pressure.
“Obviously, it’s disappointing when you give everything and finish fourth — it doesn’t make me smile,” Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc said. “But for now, this is the situation we’re in. We did our best this weekend, but our best isn’t enough.”
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Ferrari is struggling so far in 2025
Leclerc’s words capture Ferrari’s 2025 struggles. There have been no podiums yet, except for Hamilton’s Sprint race win at the Chinese Grand Prix. Bahrain’s result, though point-scoring, was a missed chance for Leclerc, who briefly contended for third before strategy faltered.
Ferrari chose a different strategy for Bahrain by starting on the medium compound tires. This was meant to give Leclerc and Hamilton flexibility and a potentially stronger final stint on softs, but it cost Leclerc two places at the start, behind George Russell and Lando Norris. The race changed dramatically with the safety car’s presence, despite a strong second stint where Leclerc was significantly faster than second-place finisher Russell at times.
This entrance of the safety card forced Ferrari into what they believed was the “safest option” – the hard compound tire – as they deemed a long final stint on softs too “ambitious.” Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said after the race, “The safety car emerged at the worst possible moment.”
Despite the setbacks caused by this tire strategy, Ferrari’s run at Bahrain did show promise. The new floor in Sakhir reduced the performance deficit and the data showed a larger operating window than in Suzuka. The smooth, low-downforce Jeddah circuit could suit the SF-25 further, allowing Ferrari to run lower and optimize, increasing their performance window by 30 percent over Bahrain.
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Is the Lewis Hamilton marriage already on the rocks?
While the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix looks more positive for Ferrari, rumors about Lewis Hamilton’s integration into the Scuderia Ferrari team have already started circulating.
During Bahrain qualifying, Hamilton made a mistake which dropped him to ninth place before he gave the team a thorough apology over the radio. Vasseur confirmed he needed to work harder on integrating Hamilton, who is still smarting from his stay at Mercedes and could perhaps be reluctant to trust his new team. Vasseur understood Hamilton’s frustration because it demonstrated his competitive mindset. The adjustment period has proven challenging because Hamilton described the Ferrari car as “so alien” after Bahrain. Not exactly a ringing endorsement from the world champion.
Adding to the external speculation, even F1 CEO and former Ferrari figure Stefano Domenicali has weighed in, suggesting current Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli as a potential future replacement for Hamilton at Ferrari. While Domenicali’s view is not an internal Ferrari assessment and faces resistance from Mercedes, it highlights the intense scrutiny surrounding Hamilton’s early performances with the Scuderia.
The team will travel to Saudi Arabia with hopes that circuit characteristics and their new floor will produce their first podium of the season. However, the early whispers about Lewis Hamilton serve as a reminder that the pressure at Ferrari is always immense, and the “continuing saga” at the Prancing Horse is far from over. As Vasseur has suggested, the team must stay calm as they work through both on-track performance and off-track speculation.
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