Ferrari: A Little ‘Sweet but Really Sour’ Start to the 2025 Season
Ferrari's first two races of 24 in 2025, can only be summed up as ‘Sweet but Sour’, a start that any Formula 1 team would detest.
From poor strategic crafting in Australia to a mixed forecast of celebration and breach of discipline in China, it is right to say Ferrari has some work to do.
Let’s uncover what Ferrari has through opportunity and old wounds that still plague the team in the first two races of the season.
Australia: A Roll of the Dice
After the Pre-Season test, Ferrari arrived at the Albert Park Circuit as one of the favourites to take the championship to McLaren.
Happy with their long runs in the Friday Practice, the Ferraris only qualified 7th and 8th on the grid, Seven tenths off the pace of Lando Norris who scored pole position.
However, another element would be thrown into the mix for the Grand Prix. Saturday’s sunshine transitioned into dismal rain on Sunday.
Countless rolls of the dice by teams and drivers in the attempt to survive the wet crucible of Albert Park. But for the Ferrari’s, no fruit was to bear.
At the final stages of the Grand Prix, the Ferraris would see themselves 8th and 9th, out of sync and prey for Australia’s home hero, Oscar Piastri.
Lewis Hamilton fell victim to Piastri’s resurgence relegating the newly signed Ferrari driver to 10th. Happy with the long Practice runs on Friday, the Fiorano-based team failed to anticipate the race's ever-changing weather conditions, walking away with only five points.
China: Sweet Sprint Victory
After a dismal start to the season, Ferrari was determined to show that their strategic mishaps were a distant memory.
Heading to the Shanghai International a new challenge emerged as the first Sprint Weekend came into full effect. And it was the Scarlet Red team who took full advantage of the Sprint, especially seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
All the rumours that were surrounding Hamilton’s move to the Italian were silent when the Ferrari driver qualified on pole position for the Sprint Race.
After 19 laps of nail-biting agony, Ferrari got the result they had hoped for. Lewis Hamilton crossed the line to win a well-deserved victory ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
Sunday: No Points for Rule Breakers
During the grand prix, Hamilton was in front of Monegasque team-mate. Closing the gap down, Leclerc was confident he was faster and could challenge the front runners ahead of the Ferrari duo.
But Hamilton's current pace believed he could maintain his pace. But lap times don't lie, Ferrari made the call to swap, but Hamilton would not relinquish position that easily, losing valuable time.
Eventually, the strategies were split and, in the bid, to chase down Max Verstappen, Hamilton stopped for fresh tyres while Leclerc stayed out in the hope of keeping ahead of the Flying Dutchman.
But both drivers failed in keeping the Raging Bull tamed, Leclerc lost grip towards the end of the race losing 4th and Hamilton was unable to catch the Verstappen on fresher tyres, leaving the Fiorano team in a state of awe, finishing 5th and 6th place in the end.
Although, Ferrari's misery did not stop there... Ferrari was looking to come away from China on a positive note… That was before the FIA delegates scrutinised the cars.
It was deemed that both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were disqualified from the race, losing 18 points for the team. In Leclerc's case, the car was found to be 1 kilogram underweight, while Hamilton's was thrown out for excessive wear to the skid plate.
Overall
The first stint of the season has been plagued by old scars that have cost the team in previous, poor strategic decisions and team orders with a rare case of breaching the regulations.
While this does not reflect their season as a whole, this short stint will be something that Ferrari will be eager to move past in the bid to fight for more championship points and race-winning success.
But with two drivers who have the willpower and sheer determination to stay ahead of one another, can they put their egos aside for the benefit of challenging for another championship or have the dominos of proving their worth already begun to fall?
We'll find out when Formula 1 ventures East to Suzuka, Japan for Round 4, the Japanese Grand Prix.