Reports: Lewis Hamilton & Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari challenger remains “unpredictable” despite updates

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc continue to struggle to get the maximum out of Ferrari's 2025 challenger, the SF25, despite the recent upgrades brought to the car. As per the recent reports, the SF25 continues to remain “unpredictable” as details behind the same were revealed.

With 2025 being the last year of the current set of regulations, most teams came into the season with an evolution of the 2024 car. Ferrari, on the other hand, opted for a revolution and brought a completely new car. However, struggles with the SF25 began early in the season with Lewis Hamilton being disqualified from the Chinese GP as the plank wear was beyond what the regulations allowed.

As a result, Ferrari had to run at a higher ride height, which was suboptimal for how a car generates downforce and led to a reduction in performance as well as the predictability of how a car would react. Lewis Hamilton struggled more with the issue compared to Charles Leclerc.

Ferrari brought a new floor at the 2025 Austrian GP, followed by a new rear suspension at the Belgian GP. The same was expected to resolve the ride height woes of the Scuderia, help the drivers run the optimal height, and even increase the downforce at the rear end.

Unfortunately, the same wasn't the case, as Lewis Hamilton struggled massively at the Belgian GP and the Hungarian GP. Charles Leclerc, on the other hand, showcased one lap pace by taking the pole position at Hungary, but reportedly has to run increased tire pressure in the final stint at Budapest to prevent the floor from bottoming out and causing excessive plank wear.

F1 Grand Prix Of Hungary - Source: Getty

As per Franco Nugnes' recent reports, the SF25 continues to suffer from ride height issues and unpredictability, which has sapped the drivers' confidence and prevented them from extracting the full potential of the challenger.

“The fact remains that the "cure" (floor plus suspension) has alleviated the difficulties, but it hasn't solved the red car's behavior, which remains unpredictable, especially under braking,” read it.motorsport.com’s report.

The report also detailed how the rear end is not solely responsible for the unpredictable behaviour and might have something to do with the front end as well. The report added,

“It's possible that there's aerodynamic instability under braking that could arise from the front in certain extreme situations”

Ferrari's brake supplier, Brembo, details Lewis Hamilton's woes with the SF25 brakes

Lewis Hamilton raced with Mercedes for over a decade before he made the move to Ferrari. Unlike the majority of the F1 grid, Mercedes uses a Carbone Industrie disc, which has much different braking characteristics in comparison to the Brembo used by Ferrari. The seven-time champion is finding it difficult to adapt to how the Brembo system works, as well as the engine braking modes used by the Maranello-based team.

The same was explained by Brembo’s F1 Customer Manager, Andrea Algeri, as he said,

“It was very exciting to start to work with Lewis. Obviously, we had some complaints from him within our regular communication and so on, and we are working hard to try to put him in a comfort zone in terms of braking.” (via The Race)

“We know he was used to a different material first, but also a different set-up in terms of general braking of the car that are not only the brakes themselves, but also engine braking, energy recovery and so on,” he added

Ferrari introduced new rear brakes at the Belgian GP, as Lewis Hamilton spun around during his final lap in SQ1, revealing that it was the rear tires that locked up, causing the spin.