Why excessive experiments could not save Ferrari in F1 Singapore GP

A number of weeks in the past, Charles Leclerc recognized Singapore as one of many few remaining rounds of 2025 the place he hoped Ferrari might redeem itself and ship a smile in a System 1 season missing satisfaction – a flash of brilliance within the evening of Marina Bay.

Based mostly on the newest races, although, Leclerc had already lowered his expectations forward of the weekend, just for the fact to be worse.

It was partly logical that, after disappointments collected in earlier rounds, nobody at Ferrari needed to lift extreme hopes for Singapore. On the similar time there was an consciousness that the Marina Bay circuit might expose the automotive's weaknesses: the traits of this observe meant Ferrari would wish to excel exactly within the areas the place it has struggled all through 2025.

Low-speed corners, particularly the extended ones requiring a pointy entrance finish, have usually challenged the SF-25, producing persistent understeer which each Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton hate. The hope for Singapore was that the uniform nature of its corners would cut back the variety of compromises required and mitigate the automotive's inherent limitations.

However even that hope rapidly light. Friday become an prolonged take a look at, with fixed set-up modifications between and through periods. Leclerc himself admitted that Ferrari was compelled to make drastic changes to the automotive, notably relating to the trip peak.

It is well-known that the SF-25 is at its greatest on the decrease finish of the ride-height spectrum, however in Singapore all groups are compelled to lift their automobiles as a result of the road circuit's nature and its fixed bumps require a higher security margin. There was nonetheless a logic in experimenting right here, although – not solely to discover the boundaries but in addition as a result of some sections, after being resurfaced, supplied smoother asphalt.

It is clear the rise in trip peak performed a job in Ferrari's troubles, however the difficulties encountered in Singapore transcend this single issue. Friday's proliferation of experiments lined aerodynamic in addition to mechanical configurations, all geared toward discovering a stability able to decreasing understeer and making the SF-25 simpler to drive.

The choice to make use of a barely lower-downforce rear wing fairly than the maximum-downforce model additionally adopted this line of pondering. When it comes to pure velocity, the distinction between the 2 set-ups wasn't notably vital, because the straights in Singapore are comparatively brief and do not have a decisive affect on lap time. The underlying drawback, nevertheless, is {that a} compromise nonetheless needs to be discovered – a stability between the 2 ends of the automotive.

Having a exact entrance finish is important for confidence on a road circuit and for getting the automotive to rotate however, on the similar time, it turns into essential to guard the rear. On a observe with so many traction zones, thermal degradation has a a lot higher affect than precise tyre put on. This was one of many causes main Leclerc to attempt some extra experiments – which he himself described as “silly” – on the finish of Q3.

Because the SF-25's persistent understeer made it tough to get the automotive to show, Leclerc tried a unique method within the ultimate moments, loading the entrance finish as a lot as attainable, even at the price of coping with an much more nervous rear finish than earlier than: “I had plenty of understeer, however for some motive the automotive was nonetheless unstable and unpredictable. Driving with understeer isn't one in every of my strengths.”

The selection to go for a extra oversteering set-up on his ultimate Q3 try was primarily on account of private driving choice, since Leclerc finds it simpler to handle that type of stability than the alternative. The issue, as he defined, is that the choice had a major affect: the SF-25 stays a automotive with what's described in Italian as a coperta corta – a “brief blanket”, providing little or no room to manoeuvre.

Then there's the tyre drawback. The SF-25 usually struggles to benefit from the softer compounds in contrast with its rivals and, as has been noticed over many race weekends this season, among the many prime groups the Ferrari drivers are those who enhance the least between the second and third runs, when extracting the final tenth is essential. The identical sample repeated itself in Singapore, to the purpose that the lap instances between Q1 and Q3 have been comparable.

From Flip 1, the SF-25's manner confirmed it was having problem in getting the tyres as much as temperature. This concern additionally affected the center sector, the place the drivers struggled to rotate the automotive and discover traction on exit. The time misplaced within the pitlane did not assist both, since recovering temperature within the entrance tyres turns into difficult – however it is a persistent weak point.

Brake points, a relentless this season, turned much more evident in Singapore, ranging from the observe periods. Each Ferrari drivers needed to handle the braking system at numerous factors within the race. From lap eight onward Leclerc suffered from an imbalance in temperature between the right- and left-rear brakes – an anomaly that, because the laps went on, prolonged to the entrance axle as effectively.

Hamilton's entrance brakes went totally throughout the closing laps, inflicting him to exceed observe limits so many instances that he was given a five-second penalty.

It is a drawback Ferrari has been coping with for a while, however in Singapore it emerged in a extra excessive type, because of the sequence of heavy braking zones and the few straights accessible for cooling. The truth that it affected each automobiles confirms there's something in the way in which the brakes are configured and within the design selections wanted to attempt to make the automotive work – however at Marina Bay, these weaknesses turned much more obtrusive.

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– The Autosport.com Group