Ferrari ‘in trouble’ claim after another underwhelming qualifying
Ferrari were again off the pace in the pole position battle in Japan.
Ferrari are “in trouble and do not know how to get better” as their difficult start to the season continued at the F1 Japanese Grand Prix.
F1’s most iconic team once again lacked the pace to challenge for pole position in qualifying at Suzuka, with Charles Leclerc taking fourth but over three-tenths adrift of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Lewis Hamilton endured a trickier afternoon and could only manage eighth on the grid as the seven-time world champion ended up being three-tenths slower than his new Ferrari teammate.
Speaking after qualifying, Jacques Villeneuve claimed Ferrari are in “trouble” amid continued whispers they are battling ride hide issues with their SF-25 challenger.
It comes after the team underwhelmed at the season-opener, finishing a lowly eighth and 10th in Australia, before both Hamilton and Leclerc were disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix for separate technical infringements.
Hamilton’s was due to having excessive wear on the plank underneath his Ferrari - a result of the car being run too low to the ground.
"They know they are in trouble and do not know how to get better,” the 1997 F1 world champion told Sky Sports.
"They can see the opposition is going to get better so it is not looking good for Ferrari.”
Ferrari pair hint at issues
Leclerc was tight-lipped about whether Ferrari are having to raise the ride height of their 2025 car and subsequently losing performance.
"We have got some other issues, not particularly with the ride height of the car. I can't go too much into detail,” he said.
"To go back to yesterday, we really found something from my driving style that seems to work a bit better and gave me a lot more confidence for the rest of qualifying and this is positive for the rest of the season.
"The other issues might take a bit longer.”
Hamilton, meanwhile, appeared to indicate this is a problem Ferrari are facing.
“We are running higher than we would like but everyone is in the same boat in that respect,” he said.
“Particularly after the last race, we are a bit higher than we want to be. It’s usually the knock-on effect from a weekend like we had before.”
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