SF-25 secrets exposed by data: The rotation and load transfer issues costing Ferrari half a second
At the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Ferrari’s FP2 session revealed a clear snapshot of the team’s current technical challenges. Lando Norris topped the timesheets while Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc finished eighth, +0.575 seconds off the pace. Although the SF-25 had shown promising balance at the start of the weekend, the second practice session highlighted recurring weaknesses in the car, particularly its sensitivity in tyre management and lack of full effectiveness in the tighter sections of the Yas Marina circuit.
Technical shortcomings of the SF-25
Telemetry comparisons between Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris revealed where the Italian car is losing performance and which parts of the track are limiting the Monegasque driver. From FP1, it was evident that Leclerc was losing significant ground in the two fastest corners of the circuit: Turn 1 (170 km/h) and Turn 9 (180 km/h), both in terms of minimum speed and traction acceleration.
The main limitation remains the difficulty in hitting the apex correctly, where the Ferrari struggles to generate the rotation speed that McLaren achieves, despite a considerable increase in front downforce. Fortunately, aside from these two corners, on a track like Yas Marina the understeer is slightly less penalizing than on more demanding circuits like Qatar.
On-board footage and telemetry indicate that the activation of the Soft tyres is still imperfect. Nonetheless, Charles Leclerc remains competitive in the first two sectors, except for Turn 1, where he loses two-tenths—exactly the gap accumulated by the end of Sector 2. However, telemetry shows that from Turn 9 onwards, Lando Norris is more effective at maintaining cornering speed and getting on the throttle earlier than Leclerc.
Load transfer and stability challenges
The Ferrari SF-25 is less reactive in load transfer, forcing Charles Leclerc to adopt a more pronounced steering angle to maintain the line, which compromises corner exit. In the slow final sector of the lap, characteristic of Sector 3, small rear-end instabilities appear, affecting both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. These micro-movements force the drivers to delay throttle application and reduce overall stability.
McLaren has the edge here: Norris consistently anticipates throttle progression, whereas Leclerc tries to maintain higher mid-corner speed with a lighter throttle input, particularly between Turns 12 and 14. The five-tenth gap is the sum of these micro-losses: small delays of a few hundredths of a second, especially in the final sector where rear tyres are worn and overheating.
Ferrari’s task for Yas Marina
The most notable issue from FP2 is the SF-25’s difficulty in keeping tyres within the target temperature window during push laps. This recurring problem throughout the 2025 season heavily affects qualifying pace. When the tyres are not at the right temperature, the car loses grip exactly where precision is most needed, in both slow corners and medium-speed sequences.
Sector 3 at Yas Marina acts as the perfect test for this weakness: a series of medium-slow corners that require rhythm, stability, and perfectly activated tyres. The general impression is that Ferrari’s operating window for the tyres is too narrow, and deviations from the ideal temperature create a domino effect that affects both balance and pure performance.
If Ferrari can improve tyre activation and regain precision in the most technical sections, the weekend could still head in a positive direction. Otherwise, there is a risk of another race stuck in the midfield or lower. Optimizing tyre warm-up strategies and maintaining proper temperatures throughout long runs of 300 km will be crucial to maximize performance.
Dec 7, 2025
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