Ferrari rolled into Bahrain with questions swirling and pressure mounting. After a rough start to their 2025 Formula 1 campaign, sitting P4 in the Constructors’ standings and trailing McLaren by a hefty 76 points, the Scuderia needed a turnaround—and fast.
Their answer? A bold suite of upgrades to the SF-25, headlined by a redesigned floor, floor edges, and a new diffuser. But would it be enough to shake things up under the scorching desert sun?
Enter Lewis Hamilton.
After a mixed first day of track action at the Bahrain Grand Prix, Hamilton offered a surprising and revealing verdict: Ferrari’s upgrades are “definitely working.”
Early Sessions, Mixed Signals
The first practice session didn’t reveal much. With the brutal midday heat sending grip levels plummeting and teams scrambling to make sense of balance issues, it was hard to get a clear read. By FP2, conditions improved—and so did the performances.
Charles Leclerc managed to clock in at P4, just half a second behind session leader Oscar Piastri in the McLaren. Hamilton himself ended the day in P8, a second off the pace, but with encouraging signs under the surface.
“Same old Fridays,” Hamilton said with a knowing smile. “The grip was terrible on the hard tyre in the morning, but once we made some changes, FP2 felt pretty decent.”
Ferrari’s Focus: Consistency and Control
When asked about Ferrari’s current objective heading into qualifying and race day, Hamilton was clear: it’s all about consistency.
“Just pulling the laps together. Having a car that’s easy to drive and consistent through the lap. Right now, it’s a bit unbalanced between low, medium, and high speed corners, so we’re working on finessing that and locking in good long-run pace—that’s where it counts here.”
Hamilton Gives Ferrari the Nod
Then came the big question: Are Ferrari’s upgrades delivering where it matters?
Hamilton didn’t hold back.
“The upgrades are definitely working,” he confirmed. “A huge thank you to everyone back at the factory. I know how much effort goes into developing these components—it’s endless hours in the wind tunnel and in fabrication just to make something like this work.”
“So yeah, it’s really promising to see us moving forward. Now it’s just about extracting everything from it—and hopefully making the right steps overnight.”
With Hamilton’s seal of approval and signs of life in Bahrain, could Ferrari finally be turning the corner?
Qualifying is next—and the paddock will be watching.
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