In a thrilling turn of events, Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari took the sprint pole in the Chinese Grand Prix, leaving McLaren, the anticipated front-runners, in the dust. The question on everyone’s lips now is whether this suggests a dominant Ferrari season for 2025. However, Fred Vasseur, the team boss, cautions against jumping to conclusions.
The sight of Lewis Hamilton snatching the pole position, a sight not seen in a while, has been a spectacle in itself. Hamilton’s impressive manoeuvring of his SF-25 to the forefront ahead of the inaugural sprint qualifying session of the year is certainly noteworthy. The question of whether Ferrari is poised to dethrone McLaren is, however, still up in the air.
Hamilton’s pole position was achieved by the slimmest of margins, a mere 0.018 seconds ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen. McLaren’s best ranking was from Oscar Piastri, who secured the third spot alongside Hamilton’s co-driver, Charles Leclerc. Meanwhile, championship hopeful Lando Norris, due to an error on his final lap, will commence from the sixth position.
The performance of Ferrari, particularly following Leclerc and Hamilton’s seventh and eighth positions respectively in Australia, certainly paints a hopeful picture. Nonetheless, this is not the complete narrative.
In a post-sprint qualifying interview with Sky Sports F1, Ferrari’s team principal, Fred Vasseur, admitted that while Ferrari had shown greater strength in China compared to Australia, it would be premature to make any grand predictions.
Vasseur pointed out the fluctuating gap between Ferrari and McLaren, sometimes substantial and at other times minimal. He concedes that there is still much work to be done. He also didn’t disregard the potential threat from Red Bull Racing, acknowledging that despite having lost some of its dominance, Verstappen can still deliver an outstanding performance.
In spite of the challenges, Vasseur acknowledged the marked improvement from the previous week’s struggles, praising Hamilton’s consistent leadership in SQ1 and SQ3 as a positive boost for the team. However, he also emphasized the need to maintain a balanced perspective, stating that he will always see the negative side.
The true test for Ferrari will be the remainder of the weekend. As Vasseur notes, there are many points to be earned in the sprint, provided Hamilton can secure a strong start and maintain a consistent race pace in the SF-25.
Nevertheless, the sprint is but a fraction of the entire Grand Prix weekend, which also includes a full qualifying session and the main race. While the sprint pole victory will surely serve as an encouragement, the ultimate evaluation of Ferrari’s performance will be based on their overall performance in the Chinese Grand Prix.
