Ferrari’s 2025 F1 Austrian GP weekend began on the back foot, as both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc struggled for pace throughout Friday practice. The team encountered setbacks across both sessions, leaving its drivers to acknowledge that only extensive overnight adjustments could bring the SF-25 closer to the front-running pace.
Hamilton suffered a gearbox issue in Free Practice 1 (FP1) that curtailed his running to a single flying lap, while Leclerc surrendered the early session to Ferrari junior Dino Beganovic. Despite a smoother run in Free Practice 2 (FP2), both Ferrari drivers closed the day unable to challenge for the top spots, expressing frustration with their lack of outright speed.
Hamilton hampered by gearbox sssue
The day began on a sour note for Lewis Hamilton, whose SF-25 encountered a gearbox malfunction almost immediately in FP1. The seven-time World Champion managed only one proper lap before the Ferrari mechanics wheeled his car back into the garage for urgent repairs. The issue not only cost Hamilton valuable track time on a sprint weekend but also prevented him from collecting long-run data.
“Not spectacular. We had a problem in the morning with the gearbox, which was obviously difficult, frustrating for everyone in the garage obviously because the boys did a great job, kept topping it up,” Hamilton explained post-session. “But you go out, you can only do one lap, and so we didn’t get the long runs. But I think we recovered okay with it, they did a great job changing the gearbox and getting us ready for FP2.”
Ferrari not expected to be at the front despite new floor
Although Ferrari mechanics swiftly replaced the gearbox, Hamilton returned to action in FP2 underprepared. He completed a fuller programme during the afternoon session but could only manage 10th on the timesheets—nearly a second adrift of the leaders. He acknowledged that the updated floor Ferrari introduced this weekend has not yet produced the expected performance boost.
“Charles was six‑tenths off, I was close to a second off, so not ideal. But I think there’s lots of learnings, so I think we will make some changes. Hopefully we can try and get a little bit closer. We won’t be at the front.”
He added: “A huge amount of work went on to bring the floor, but as you see it’s not necessarily changed our competitiveness.“
“The car actually doesn’t feel bad, we’re just a huge chunk off pace‑wise, so we need to look into that and that’s about it really. We just keep pushing, just trying to dial the car in more and see what we can get, but it’s obviously very close in the top 10 so a tenth could make a difference, so we’ll work towards trying to gain at least that over the night.”
Leclerc struggles with car feel after missing FP1
Charles Leclerc returned to his cockpit in FP2 after stepping aside for Dino Beganovic in the morning session. While the Monegasque driver quickly reacquainted himself with the Austrian circuit, he struggled to extract full confidence from the SF-25. He finished fifth in the second session of the 2025 F1 Austrian GP but echoed Hamilton’s concerns about Ferrari’s lack of outright speed over a single lap.
“Not really. [Missing] FP1 didn’t really compromise FP2. I felt kind of at ease on the track straightaway, but not really at ease with the car and the way the car feels, so there’s quite a bit of work to be done for tomorrow,” Leclerc said.
“It doesn’t feel like the performance is quite there yet, but hopefully we will put everything together tomorrow and do a step forward, but there’s quite a lot of work to be done tonight.”
Leclerc optimistic about race pace but Qualifying runs a challenge
Ferrari’s race-day performance has often proved stronger than its qualifying pace this season, and Leclerc believes that pattern remains true this weekend. However, he warned that poor grid positions would leave the team vulnerable during the Grand Prix, especially given how difficult overtaking has become in recent races.
“Long run [pace] seems to be more positive as we very often have – we are faster on the race [pace] than we are in Qualifying. In Qualifying there’s a lot of work to be done.”
“Our race pace is very positive,” he continued. “We were, I would say, [setting] very similar lap times to the fastest guys, so that’s good, but the problem is that we’ve seen recently that everything is so close, and as soon as you start P6, P7, then in the race it’s extremely difficult to come back where you should be.”
“So that’s really our target, is to try and maximise Qualifying – whether we’ll make it or not I don’t know, but there will be a lot of work tonight to try and maximise that.”
Beganovic embraces F1 Moment
While Ferrari’s main drivers faced a frustrating day at the 2025 F1 Austrian GP, the mood was notably different for Ferrari junior Dino Beganovic. The Swedish Formula 2 driver, who currently sits mid-pack in the championship, made his second official Formula 1 appearance in FP1. Taking over Leclerc’s car for the session, Beganovic completed a clean and composed run, soaking up the opportunity with visible excitement.
“It felt very good, it’s always very nice to drive an F1 car,” he said. “Doing an F1 weekend is obviously even more special, and on top of that doing it in a Ferrari, even more special. It means a lot to me.”
“This is my sixth year now [in the Ferrari Driver Academy], so it’s been a long journey and here we are doing the steps towards my goal, which is to have an F1 seat one day, and doing these programmes that we have in the Academy really helps me to show myself but also get a first taste of what it is.”
Ferrari chasing overnight fixes
With the top ten separated by fine margins, both Hamilton and Leclerc hope that setup refinements overnight can lift them into a more competitive position for Saturday’s qualifying session.
Although the SF-25 appears more balanced during race simulations, Ferrari must first solve its one-lap deficit to ensure its drivers start from favourable positions. On a circuit where track position often determines results, the pressure is now firmly on the Scuderia to deliver under time constraints.
