Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur entered the 2025 Formula 1 season with the intent to back both his drivers equally. On one side was Charles Leclerc, a long-time Ferrari protégé who’s been with the team since his early racing days. On the other was seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, newly arrived from Mercedes and seen by some within Ferrari as the man who could finally end their title drought—especially considering the heavy investment it took to bring him over.
While Vasseur aimed to stay neutral, internal hopes reportedly leaned toward Hamilton becoming Ferrari’s number one, given his pedigree and the cost of his signing.
But after six races, Leclerc has taken the lead in guiding car development, leveraging his deep familiarity with Ferrari’s systems and routines. That has led to a set-up direction favoring Leclerc’s driving style—one that now appears to be hurting Hamilton’s performance.
“Completely unbalanced” Ferrari set-up hurting Hamilton
According to Autoracer, Ferrari have been forced to raise the ride height of the SF-25—especially after Hamilton’s disqualification in China for excessive plank wear. To avoid a repeat, they’ve adopted a new set-up that’s heavily front-loaded, causing oversteer and compromising rear grip.
This setup, described as “completely unbalanced,” suits Leclerc but is “penalising” Hamilton, making it harder for him to adapt. It’s also costing Ferrari valuable time in slow corners—a former stronghold of theirs in recent seasons.
The development path, while a necessity given the car’s flaws, may be limiting the team’s competitiveness as a whole. McLaren, Mercedes, and Red Bull have all surged ahead in both the drivers’ and constructors’ standings, with Ferrari trailing in fourth.
Hope from within the Leclerc family
Though Leclerc has adapted quickly, Hamilton is still working to re-learn processes after over a decade with Mercedes. Interestingly, help might be coming from an unexpected place—Charles’ younger brother Arthur Leclerc.
Arthur has been running tests in older Ferrari models to collect data that could help unlock the issues behind the SF-25’s tricky behavior. But time is of the essence—delays in solving current problems may render improvements meaningless, especially with next year’s cars needing fundamentally different solutions.
As it stands, both Leclerc and Hamilton remain winless, with Leclerc managing one podium and a best finish of third, while Hamilton’s best is fifth. Still, they hope upcoming updates will deliver a breakthrough—ideally one that doesn’t favor just one side of the garage.
