Ferrari: the F1 Australian shipwreck reveals too many flaws. In Australia, the SF-25 has let down expectations.

Ferrari has sunk. Charles Leclerc finished eighth, and Lewis Hamilton tenth at the end of the Australian Grand Prix. The Scuderia is seventh in the Constructors’ Championship, even behind Sauber, which managed to secure six precious points with Nico Hulkenberg.

The Ferrari cars finished behind the customer car from Hinwil, powered by the same 066/12 power unit, considered (perhaps unjustly) the weakest in the grid. This fact highlights a disastrous start to the season. Mattia Binotto, the former team principal of Ferrari, might have smiled at the twist of events, but Ferrari has exposed all its deficiencies at the beginning of this season.

The SF-25 disappointed expectations, while the team believed they had prepared well for the Albert Park trip after analyzing data from the Bahrain tests. Ferrari was the only top team to arrive in Melbourne with a medium-load wing, while competitors opted for less resistant configurations in pursuit of performance.

On Friday, with a “green” track, the Ferrari defended itself, fueling the idea that it could be the second-best team behind the uncatchable McLaren, but as grip increased (on a street circuit), the Ferrari’s performance worsened.

Qualifying was disastrous (Leclerc seventh, Hamilton eighth), and some, perhaps foolishly, made fans believe that things would change in the race, given the rain forecasts. The high-load wing could have been an advantage in the wet, and there was hope the race would correct some issues. The result, however, was even worse. The car approved at the Maranello simulator on Friday proved to be too low, and when raised to avoid damaging the floor, it lost aerodynamic downforce. A serious problem, as the SF-25 was designed with an aggressive aerodynamic map, and when you add the “parachute” at the rear, it’s clear why performance was lacking.

Australia is not a significant circuit to judge a car, and we will have to wait for the responses from China and especially Japan to get an idea of Ferrari’s true value. However, the team that Fred Vasseur had pompously referred to as a title contender has revealed several flaws.

The car cannot be that bad, but the issue of balance must be identified, as it undermined Lewis Hamilton’s confidence, making him appear very awkward on his debut with Ferrari. It was known that he hadn’t yet gained confidence with the SF-25, but the Englishman didn’t connect with the track engineer, Riccardo Adami: there were some “roughness” on the radio during the GP, indicating a lack of harmony. Those rough moments were also visible on track with Charles, when the two Ferrari drivers were fighting not for a win but to stay in the points. Good luck…

As for Leclerc, despite an excellent start where he gained a couple of positions, he never had the pace to aim for higher positions. To make matters worse, there was also a botched strategy with a delayed pit stop on lap 34. Ferrari must turn the page and immediately focus on Shanghai, hoping that the Australian disaster remains an isolated incident. There are still 23 Grand Prix remaining this season…