Ferrari’s quest for a Grand Prix win in the 2025 F1 season has received a confident endorsement from former driver and F1 TV commentator Jolyon Palmer.
Despite a challenging season for the Scuderia, with their SF-25 car trailing the pace of championship leaders McLaren, Palmer believes Ferrari’s potential will shine through before the year ends and deliver a long-awaited victory for seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton or teammate Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton’s move this season from Mercedes to Maranello was expected to elevate the team’s performance. But while the Briton and Leclerc have shown moments of promise, inconsistency and a lack of outright pace has weighed on Ferrari’s campaign year-to-date.
Yet Palmer is convinced that a breakthrough is on the horizon for the Scuderia.
“They Will Win a Race”
“Yes. They will win a race before the end of the year,” Palmer said during the F1 Nation podcast.
He pinpointed several upcoming races where Ferrari could realistically challenge for victory, highlighting circuits where the team – and Hamilton or Leclerc – could thrive.
“Singapore, they should have a good chance, when you look at the performance they had in Monaco,” Palmer said, referencing Ferrari’s sharp one-lap pace on street-style circuits.
“Even at Monza. They are always competitive at Monza. That would be the fairytale story for either driver.”
©Ferrari
Indeed, Ferrari showed strong pace in Monaco earlier this year, with Charles Leclerc narrowly missing out on pole position before being leapfrogged by the McLarens on a second flying lap.
“They have had chances this year,” Palmer noted. “In Monaco, Leclerc was on provisional pole then the McLarens did a second run which got him. But on a like-for-like, on one set of tyres, he was ahead.”
“In Canada, Leclerc crashed on Friday and did no laps. He still was halfway through his lap looking like he’d challenge for pole, or at least the front row.”
“At Silverstone they could put it on the front row. I think they could have had pole. Hamilton lost a chunk of time.
“I was in parc ferme ready to interview them, thinking ‘this is going to be the Hamilton pole at Silverstone!’ He was nailing it through 15 of the 18 corners but then you saw him go wide.
“The potential is definitely there,” he added. “I’d be amazed if they don’t get a win this year.”
Hungary and Beyond: Where Could Ferrari Triumph?
Ferrari heads to this week’s Belgium Grand Prix at Spa with a new rear suspension mounted on their SF-25 that will hopefully benefit Hamilton and Leclerc.
But Palmer sees the following round in Budapest as a potential turning point for the Scuderia.
“I still wouldn’t have thought Hungary would be the best track,” he cautioned. “But we’re talking about tiny amounts separating the best four teams.
“The theory was that slower speed shorter corners were better for Ferrari. But that’s the exact opposite of Silverstone where I didn’t expect them to be quick but they could have had a front row lockout.
“The form guide could throw anything up.”
With Monza, Singapore, and other unpredictable circuits still ahead, Palmer believes it’s only a matter of time before Ferrari capitalizes.
And when they do, the Tifosi will erupt.
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