The legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit has long been a proving ground in Formula 1, where upgrades are tested and ambitions are laid bare.

For Ferrari, the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix was meant to be a turning point. A major rear suspension upgrade for the SF25 was touted as the breakthrough that could finally tame their notoriously unpredictable rear end.

But by the end of Friday’s sprint qualifying (SQ1), the story that unfolded was far more complex—and more troubling—for the Scuderia.

Hamilton’s Nightmare Friday

Perhaps the biggest shock of the weekend came not from the cars leading the field, but from one spinning at the back. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, now racing for Ferrari, was expected to spearhead the team’s push with the upgraded SF25. However, his Friday was marred by misfortune, starting with a shaky first SQ1 lap and culminating in a dramatic spin at the final chicane just as the checkered flag fell.

The spin left Hamilton languishing in 18th place—his worst qualifying performance in a sprint since Austria nearly two years ago. Visibly frustrated, Hamilton summed up the experience with brutal honesty: “I spun.” When pressed on whether rear locking had caused the incident, his sarcastic reply—”Yeah, the first time in my career”—spoke volumes about his discontent.

Technical issues may have contributed to his woes. Sky Sports’ Anthony Davidson pointed to a possible gearbox problem, noting, “You hear that clunking? That’s backlash in the gearbox.” Martin Brundle added that the rear axle appeared to have failed under braking—an unusual and worrying problem.

Hamilton had shown promise early in the session, running 0.155 seconds ahead of the cut-off pace through Sector 2 before losing control. That incident at the Bus Stop chicane didn’t just cost him a chance to make SQ2—it may have robbed Ferrari of the first real evaluation of their new upgrade under competitive conditions.

The Upgrade That Promised Pace

Ferrari’s new rear suspension aimed to lower the SF25’s ride height and improve rear-end stability, long seen as a weakness of the 2025 car. By shifting the mounting point of the front wishbone to the gearbox and likely tweaking the dampers, Ferrari hoped to provide both drivers with a more predictable and responsive platform.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari’s other pilot, did manage to put in a cleaner session, qualifying P4 for the sprint. He felt the upgrade’s benefits but remained frustrated by the scale of the gap to pole-sitter Oscar Piastri—0.768 seconds.

“It’s a mixed feeling,” Leclerc said post-qualifying. “On one side, I’m happy that the car feels better, and on the other, even if the car feels pretty good, we are still seven-tenths off. That’s a huge amount of time, even on a long track like Spa.”

Leclerc acknowledged the car felt more planted than in previous rounds, but it wasn’t enough. McLaren’s pace, particularly through the high-speed corners, left Ferrari searching for answers.

Risks and Setups

One of the key revelations from Leclerc’s comments was Ferrari’s continued reliance on extreme setups. Even with the new suspension, Leclerc admitted he was still forced to run aggressive settings to extract peak performance.

“I prefer to go for performance rather than confidence,” Leclerc said, referencing past struggles like Silverstone, where such setups backfired in wet conditions. “I don’t think this will improve with that rear suspension upgrade, because we still need to set up the car in a relatively similar position to extract the maximum out of it.”

That’s a telling admission. It suggests that while Ferrari’s hardware may have improved, the SF25 remains a car that only performs on a knife’s edge—an approach that leaves little margin for error, especially in unpredictable conditions like Spa.

The Sprint Opportunity

Despite Friday’s setbacks, Ferrari still has a chance to salvage something in Saturday’s sprint. For Hamilton, that means slicing through the field from 18th just to score a point. Ironically, sprints have been the only arena where he’s truly shone in red so far this season. A win in the Shanghai Sprint and a P3 finish in Miami are the high points of his brief Ferrari tenure. He’ll need to channel that same form if he hopes to turn around his Belgian weekend.

For Leclerc, the challenge is more about closing the gap to the front. While a fourth-place start provides a solid platform, he’s chasing a McLaren that appears to be in a league of its own at Spa. Even with Ferrari’s upgrades, the time loss per lap suggests the team may not yet understand how to fully unlock the new setup’s potential.

The Bigger Picture for Ferrari

This weekend was always going to be a critical checkpoint in Ferrari’s 2025 campaign. After a string of inconsistent performances, team principal Frédéric Vasseur made clear that the Spa upgrade would be the cornerstone of Ferrari’s mid-season revival. Early signs, however, suggest the improvements may be more incremental than revolutionary.

Hamilton’s failure to capitalize on the upgrade was a blow—but not necessarily a condemnation of the package. His issues may have stemmed from factors outside the car’s baseline performance. If Ferrari can verify and fix the mechanical or setup problems that led to his spin, the new suspension could yet prove transformative.

Leclerc’s data will be vital here. His cleaner run offers Ferrari engineers a clearer look at how the SF25 behaves with the upgrade under pressure. If grip remains the limiting factor, Ferrari may need to consider a second phase of upgrades—or at the very least, a different aerodynamic configuration for future rounds.

Can Ferrari Fight Back?

As the team heads into the sprint, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Ferrari desperately needs a morale boost—not just for championship points, but to justify the direction of its development. A strong showing in the sprint could begin to reshape the narrative around the SF25 and its troubled handling.

Yet, the signs remain mixed. A promising new part cannot erase the executional errors and reliability issues that have haunted the team. Until Ferrari can string together a full weekend without setbacks, they’ll remain in the shadow of faster, more consistent rivals like McLaren.

Saturday’s sprint is more than a 100-kilometer dash—it’s a microcosm of Ferrari’s 2025 struggle: fast but flawed, hopeful but haunted by missed opportunities. Can the Scuderia finally break the cycle?

We’ll find out at Spa.

Full Video: