"I don't see Ferrari as a threat" - F1 expert delivers a blunt verdict on the Maranello team
Former F1 driver and pundit Jolyon Palmer claimed that he believed Ferrari would not be in the running for pole position at the 2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Saturday. The Italian team has been lacking performance in the first part of the 2025 campaign and has generally been behind their rivals, McLaren, Mercedes, and Red Bull, on the track.
The Maranello-based outfit brought in some new parts to the iconic Imola circuit this weekend in their bid to improve some performance on the SF-25. However, the changes have not yielded the desired results and put them behind the likes of Williams F1 and Visa Cash App Racing Bulls over a single lap.
During the FP3 broadcast on F1TV, Jolyon Palmer mentioned that the SF-25 was "missing downforce" and won't be a challenger for pole position despite showcasing decent race pace compared to McLaren. He said:
"A car that's missing downforce, well, and that's really the state of play, I think, for Ferrari at the moment, 7th and 10th. I don't see them as a threat for pole on the home side, even if the race pace is better, they've got too much work to do, which is exactly the problem."
Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were critical of the balance and brake issues after the first two Friday Practice Sessions.
Ferrari drivers paint a sorry picture after the Friday Practice Sessions
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton stated that he felt the FP2 session was challenging for him than FP1, as he shared that he made slight adjustments to the SF-25.
As per F1.com, the seven-time F1 world champion reflected upon his Friday and said:
"FP1 felt positive — the balance was good and there wasn’t much we needed to change heading into FP2, but the second session was more challenging and it was hard to find consistency. We’ll look into the data we’ve collected this evening, but we completed the programme and the long runs, so there’s solid amount of information to analyse."
Hamilton's teammate Charles Leclerc had a much tougher time on Friday and added:
"FP1 was a bit tricky, and we faced different challenges during the session. In FP2, we put it together more, but we are still lacking overall performance. Our race pace looked decent, however, this is a track where overtaking is quite difficult. Our weak point at the moment is our qualifying pace, so this is our priority to work on."
Ferrari has yet to score a pole position in the 2025 season for the main race, with Charles Leclerc's P2 in Bahrain being their best effort. However, Lewis Hamilton claimed a Sprint pole in China earlier in the year.