Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have raised serious concerns about Ferrari’s form in Qatar, warning that the SF-25 has gone from difficult to barely drivable after an overnight slide that left both men floundering outside the points in Saturday’s Sprint at Lusail.
Hamilton finished 17th after starting from the pitlane, while Leclerc could do no better than 13th – and both drivers admitted the car’s behaviour had deteriorated dramatically since Friday.
Ferrari’s decision to overhaul Hamilton’s setup for the Sprint only exposed deeper issues.
“Well, I mean, we started from the pitlane because we wanted to explore and make some changes,” Hamilton said.
“They had some things they found on the simulator last night, so we implemented those changes. And yeah, the car was really in the wrong direction and very, very difficult for whatever reason.”
His frustration centered on a complete lack of rear stability.
“We just don’t have any stability,” he added. “So when I say that, it’s the rear end is not planted. So it’s sliding, snapping a lot. Then we have bouncing. So when you’re going into corners like Turn 10, the thing starts bouncing.
“We have a lot of mid-corner understeer. And then you apply the steering and then it snaps and you try and catch it. So it’s different between low, medium and high. And it’s a fight like you couldn’t believe.”
If Ferrari hoped Hamilton’s problems were setup-specific, Leclerc confirmed the situation is far more worrying.
“It definitely did,” he said when asked if the car had worsened since qualifying.
“I have no idea how that happened from qualifying to today. The feeling has changed completely to yesterday and I don’t really know from where it’s coming from.”
His opening laps were chaotic.
“The first lap was just… I was struggling to keep the car on track. Lost four or five positions and then still lots of mistakes because it was extremely difficult to drive. So I don’t quite understand what happened there.”
With qualifying for the grand prix looming, Ferrari now faces a race against time to diagnose a sudden and troubling collapse in performance.
If Hamilton and Leclerc’s accounts are any indication, the Scuderia may be staring at one of its most difficult weekends of the season.
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