P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Ferrari Technical Director (Chassis) Loic Serra has revealed the team has put “a lot of work” into improving its qualifying performance but not at the risk of affecting the race pace of its 2025 F1 machine.
The Scuderia’s recent trend of excelling in one-lap performance but struggling in races has been evident in their past F1 cars, with a notable shift seen in the 2024 season’s SF-24 car. While the SF-24 faced challenges in tire warm-up affecting its one-lap pace, it managed to secure more race victories than pole positions for the first time since 2017. The team’s focus with the SF-25 is on improving their one-lap performance by gaining valuable milliseconds without compromising the strong race pace achieved last year, especially in a highly competitive season shared with winning teams like McLaren, Red Bull, and Mercedes. The tight margins in qualifying throughout the 2024 season stressed the importance of grid positions, with track position proving vital due to limited overtaking opportunities in Grand Prix races. Ferrari’s pursuit of those final milliseconds in qualifying is crucial to maintain competitiveness, but it must be balanced with retaining the hard-earned race pace to remain in contention for victories.
