Ferrari duo Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are not happy with the current state of their cars ahead of the Formula One Austrian Grand Prix.
So far, the 2025 season has been a write-off for Ferrari, and judging by comments made by Hamilton and Leclerc after Friday’s practice at this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, their fortunes aren’t about to change any time soon.
Ferrari had high hopes for their season following the flexi-wing rule change at the Spanish Grand Prix, but a fifth and sixth-place finish last time in Canada certainly put a dampener on that.
| Position | Constructors' Standings | Points |
| 1 | McLaren Racing | 374 |
| 2 | Mercedes-AMG Petronas | 199 |
| 3 | Scuderia Ferrari | 183 |
| 4 | Red Bull Racing | 162 |
| 5 | Williams F1 Team | 55 |
F1’s most successful ever team are scrambling for answers.
‘We’re a huge chunk off’ says Lewis Hamilton after ‘not spectacular’ Friday practice
Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, was one second off the fastest lap time set by Lando Norris in second practice, and after a gearbox issue hampered his running in FP1, it was an overall frustrating day for the Brit.
Hamilton’s response when asked how he thought the day went was “not spectacular”. He continued: “Hopefully we can make some changes and get a little bit closer, but we won’t be at the front.”
Hamilton joined the list of all-time greats to drive for Ferrari this year, but despite winning the sprint race in China, he has not enjoyed the same levels of success in red as his predecessors in a car that simply lacks raw pace.
The team introduced a new floor upgrade for Austria, but that hasn’t made a difference, according to Hamilton.
“There was a lot of hard work done to change the floor, but it hasn’t exactly changed our competitiveness. The car actually doesn’t feel bad, we’re just a huge chunk off pace-wise.”
Hamilton has won the most F1 races in history, and knows a quick car when he sees one. This isn’t one.
Charles Leclerc cites qualifying pace as the problem for Ferrari
Hamilton’s teammate Leclerc was similarly frustrated after his Friday running. He won at this circuit back in 2022 and feels comfortable around the Red Bull ring. But he doesn’t share the same familiarity with his car.
He was asked if he was happy with his Friday practice sessions, to which the Monégasque replied, “Not really. I felt at ease on the track straight away, but not at ease with the car and the way it feels. There’s quite a lot of work to be done.
“It doesn’t feel like the performance is quite there. Hopefully, we will put everything together and take a step forward, but there’s quite a lot of work to be done.”
Qualifying is an issue for Ferrari. They have been competitive on Sundays, especially at the hands of Leclerc, but by starting down the order consistently after poor Saturdays, they are unable to threaten the top of the order.
“The long runs seem more positive,” Leclerc acknowledged. “As we often are, we are faster in the race than in qualifying. In qualifying, there’s a lot of work to be done.
“Our race pace is very positive. We were very similar lap times to the fastest guys, but the problem is we’ve seen recently that everything is so close, that when you start p6 or p7, it’s extremely hard to fight back to where you should be.”
Leclerc finished by saying all of the focus for this weekend is on getting the most out of the car on Saturday.
“That’s our target – to try and maximise qualifying. Whether we will make it or not, I don’t know.”