The Ferrari data that will give Hamilton and Leclerc reasons to be cheerful

After a qualifying session to forget, Ferrari delivered a strong race, maximising every ounce of potential they had on track.

Climbing from P11 and P12 to P4 and P6, and nearly fighting for the podium, is certainly a respectable outcome. Perhaps not what the Tifosi were hoping for, but a solid result given Saturday’s performance.

The Ferrari SF-25 still has solid race pace

Let’s explore the key strategic calls that enabled Ferrari to pull this off, as revealed by telemetry data.

Following a dreadful qualifying, it was clear that Ferrari’s one-lap pace was still their Achilles’ heel, but the race pace? Still rather solid. And that was proven yet again during Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Behind Max and the two McLarens, Ferrari was the next fastest team in race conditions. However, poor grid positions meant they were never truly in contention for top honours.

One clever decision from Ferrari was to split strategies, Hamilton started P12 on the C4 compound, while Leclerc began on the medium C5s. This gave Charles an early advantage, allowing him to quickly gain positions.

But soon after, a DRS train began to form from Alonso in P5 to Hamilton in P12 with all the drivers within a second of the car in front. In such conditions, overtaking becomes exceptionally difficult, particularly on a track like Imola where passing opportunities are limited.

That’s why Ferrari took the gamble: Leclerc was called in for a tyre change on Lap 11, a risky move, but in this case, it paid off. Russell pitted a lap later and rejoined behind Leclerc, who now had clean air and capitalised on it beautifully, gaining a full six seconds over the Mercedes.

But Leclerc didn’t just undercut Russell, he leapfrogged both Aston Martins and Sainz as well. According to data, had there not been a Safety Car, he could have jumped Albon too. At Lap 28, Albon was 15 seconds ahead, and a normal pit stop in Imola costs about 28 seconds, meaning the gap was closing fast.

This was thanks to Charles’ excellent pace (on par with Piastri’s) in the laps immediately following his stop, made possible by running in clear air. In fact, this move seemed to inspire several other teams to follow suit but by then, Leclerc had built enough of a buffer.

The Virtual Safety Car came at an unfortunate time for Charles, as the cars ahead who hadn’t yet stopped could now do so at a reduced cost.

Among those was his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who had been stuck behind Antonelli for most of his opening stint.

After the VSC, Ferrari’s pace was extraordinary. Both drivers breezed past Antonelli and Hadjar, with Albon the next target in P4.

The Ferraris steadily chipped away at the gap until another DNF, and a full Safety Car bunched up the field.

Having stopped early, Leclerc no longer had fresh tyres available, so he stayed out during the SC period. Hamilton, on the other hand, got lucky — again — and took the opportunity to bolt on a new set of hard tyres. This second Safety Car actually hurt many of the early stoppers like Piastri, Leclerc, and Russell.

In the end, all three lost positions in the final phase. But Hamilton? He had one of the best stints of the race, matching Norris’ pace lap for lap. He passed Russell with ease and then capitalised on the scrap between Leclerc and Albon to grab two more spots, finishing a brilliant fourth.

Leclerc, after a brief tangle with the Williams, wisely handed the position back, a smart move that spared him a likely 5-second penalty, which would have cost him several more positions.

All in all, a fantastic race and a strong showing for the SF-25, on both the C4 and C5 compounds.

Despite the positive result, Ferrari still finds itself below where it should be, especially when it comes to qualifying performance. And the next challenge? Monaco – a circuit where track position is everything.

There, they’ll need more than just good strategy; they’ll need raw speed. Let’s see if Ferrari can rise to the occasion…

Read next: Explained: Why Ferrari told Leclerc to give position to Albon in heated radio exchange