For Ferrari, an essential weekend begins: the Method 1 Canadian Grand Prix. The Maranello staff, after two consecutive podiums in Monaco and the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, each achieved by Charles Leclerc, is named upon to silence with outcomes the current rumors suggesting that staff principal Frederic Vasseur may very well be out on the finish of the 2025 Method 1 season. Each drivers have defended the French supervisor’s work and need to shut ranks by attempting to present their most.
The SF-25 single-seater has carried out decently in current outings, at the least when it comes to race tempo, however the efficiency remains to be removed from the expectations in the beginning of the season. For that reason, Frederic Vasseur’s title has been extensively mentioned, as has that of the Monegasque driver, who wished to disclaim any rumors of a doable departure, as soon as once more professing his everlasting love for the Prancing Horse.
Let’s now take an in depth have a look at how occasions unfolded for Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton within the first free follow session on the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal:
The Ferrari drivers are of their vehicles and, after the same old pre-session checks, depart the pit lane to start their first run on the Canadian circuit. Each SF-25 vehicles are fitted with pink compound Pirelli tires for this preliminary part. The gearbox is ready to the GX3 mapping, designed to permit quick however not overly aggressive gear adjustments. Lewis Hamilton instantly goes on the assault towards the stopwatch, whereas Charles Leclerc opts for a preparation lap to carry the C6 tires as much as temperature.
The primary laps are cautious, with the drivers assessing the monitor situations, made even trickier by the site visitors on the circuit. Ferrari shows its normal traits: slight understeer on nook entry and a lackluster response within the slower course adjustments. Whereas Lewis Hamilton appears to battle to maintain the tires within the optimum window, his Maranello teammate seems more practical in temperature administration, particularly on the tire floor.
Within the first two sectors, Charles Leclerc nonetheless can’t discover ideally suited grip, however within the third sector, he’s already among the many quickest. It stays to be seen whether or not that is as a result of chosen setup or just a delay in tire activation. His sector instances steadily enhance within the following laps between the primary and second sectors, indicating that it was extra a matter of confidence and adapting to the monitor, mixed with a extra progressive use of the compounds.
Nonetheless, all the things involves a halt as a consequence of an incident involving Charles Leclerc, who locks up his entrance proper in Flip 3. The Monegasque goes onto the grass, can’t steer the automotive, and hits the within wall with the entrance left, additionally damaging the rear left, thus destroying many of the left facet of his SF-25. Purple flag, and session over for the 27-year-old driver.
Charles Leclerc makes a easy mistake, a lapse in focus that penalizes him closely simply as he was gaining extra confidence with the automotive. An actual disgrace, contemplating the progress proven. About ten minutes later, the session resumes, and Lewis Hamilton instantly returns to the monitor with one other set of Tender tires. After not even a full lap, the Briton additionally loses management of his automotive: beneath braking at Flip 10, the rear finish steps out and he spins, fortuitously with out harm.
He returns to the pits to mount a brand new set of tires. General, Ferrari’s traction appears strong, however it’s clear that dealing with nonetheless wants fine-tuning. The dearth of rotation continues to be a weak spot, the identical one which led Charles Leclerc to the error and the crash into the boundaries. In comparison with his Maranello teammate, the Briton nonetheless wants to seek out the precise feeling with the automotive, however at the least he didn’t crash.
Upon his return to the monitor, Lewis Hamilton reveals no clear enchancment in lap instances. He additionally studies a difficulty with the delta on the steering wheel and receives directions from the pit wall to vary his method to Turns 3 and 10: enter extra slowly to achieve higher exit acceleration. Within the last part of the session, the staff focuses on a race tempo simulation with a excessive gasoline load, important for analyzing tire conduct beneath extra reasonable situations.
The simulation consists of 11 consecutive laps, throughout which the SF-25 seems typically secure however nonetheless barely unsure on nook entry. The lap instances stay pretty constant, with a quick opening lap in 1.16.9, adopted by laps within the low 1.17s. In abstract, the potential is there, however extra work is required on the stability entrance. The objective is to discover a setup that permits the automotive to maximise efficiency by higher managing each understeer and oversteer, making the automotive extra responsive and aggressive.
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