The qualifying session at the Baku Grand Prix has just concluded, leaving a deep scar on the hearts of Ferrari fans and the team itself. After promising practice sessions where the car’s pace seemed significantly improved, a harsh reality struck like an electric shock. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, two of Formula 1’s top talents, faced an afternoon of profound disappointment, marked by baffling strategic decisions and an unfortunate crash that has put Ferrari in an extremely disadvantageous position. This event not only raises serious questions about the Maranello team’s strategic management but also casts doubt on their true competitiveness for the 2025 season.

The Nightmare of Q2 and Q3

The Baku GP’s qualifying session couldn’t have ended in a worse manner for Ferrari. After some strong practice sessions, the nightmare began when Leclerc knocked Hamilton out in Q2, only to proceed to crash his own car at Turn 15 in Q3. This was a devastating blow to Ferrari, especially after they had shown impressive pace in all the preceding practice runs. The changes made to the car seemed to have reverted it to an undrivable machine, leaving the drivers on the back foot. The pressing questions now are how Ferrari’s drivers will bounce back from this setback and, more importantly, whether this is a clear indicator that the team has a mountain of work to do before they can call themselves a competitive squad.

Baffling Strategy and Hamilton’s Frustration

Whenever you hear something about Ferrari, you have to be extremely careful with your expectations. The Maranello-based squad has yet again disappointed its drivers with its strategy, especially Hamilton during his final run in Q2. The seven-time world champion was left to fight for a spot in Q3 on worn soft tires. One cannot help but wonder whether the Maranello-based squad actually knows what they are doing at this point, especially at a time when they are being heavily criticized for how they handle their drivers’ strategies.

During this qualifying session, a critical incident was noted by many: Leclerc ruined Hamilton’s first fast lap by putting an extra lap on the soft tires. In a questionable move, Ferrari then kept Hamilton on that same set of tires while Leclerc was allowed to pit for a fresh set of medium tires. It’s a highly questionable decision, and it’s clear Hamilton was not pleased to see his lap ruined by his teammate’s mistake.

Elaborating further, Hamilton was adamant that he wanted a different strategy from the one his team offered, and this is definitely something that will be discussed within the team’s internal circles. The seven-time world champion stated his disappointment clearly: “It’s tough. Everyone ahead of me basically had the medium tire on, but I lost a medium tire in P2 due to the run plan schedule, and that put me on the back foot. I wanted to come in for a hot pit stop like Leclerc, but the team said that the warm-up was too long or something like that. So then we ran out of time and ran out of fuel. Not great, but we’ll take it. Internally, I’m obviously so disappointed. Yesterday, the car was feeling good. Today, there was a direction that we ended up going which, on paper, looked like it was the best place for us to be, and ultimately, it ended up bad. But that’s Ferrari for you.”

It’s certain that Hamilton will have some explicit words for his peers after the qualifying session. Let’s not forget that in Q3, his teammate Leclerc and one of the main protagonists for pole, Piastri, both crashed. Combine that with Norris’s poor lap, and you have a lot to think about in terms of Hamilton fighting for the front row and, who knows, securing the first win for the team.

The fact that Hamilton had a lot of positive things to say about the team after FP2 pains the fans even more. He’s probably going to take all of those words back now that the strategy from his team left him out to dry. You just have to ask a very simple question: Why isn’t Ferrari actually listening to Hamilton? Yes, it was his choice in terms of the tires for Q2, but it wasn’t his fault that Leclerc went off in Turn 1 and ruined Hamilton’s fast lap. Furthermore, when Leclerc had the luxury to pit and go for that strategy, the same could have been applied to Lewis as well. While Hamilton didn’t have another set of mediums like Leclerc (because he saved them for the race), putting him out on used tires on a circuit like this is just too much. You’re practically hoping that he’s going to perform a miracle, and at this stage of Hamilton’s career, where he’s still very much in doubt about the car’s capabilities, it’s definitely not doable.

An Uncertain Future and Growing Disappointment

Earlier this week, the seven-time world champion said that he’s “stuck” with the team’s current position, and it’s quite frustrating. He said, “I would say this time it’s not been as exciting as my previous move from McLaren to Mercedes because we’ve moved over for the next season so early, and so you’re then just stuck with what you have for the year. So it makes this season less exciting because you’re not getting developments. We’re just going to see out the rest of the year with what we have, but then next year will be an exciting one because there will be lots of upgrades.”

This isn’t new for Ferrari fans, who are disappointed week after week as their team struggles to perform when it matters the most. Most of the time, the blame can be found in the choice of strategy or tires. If Ferrari wants to call itself competitive, they cannot continue doing things like this. At some point, you have to understand the pressure of having arguably the best lineup on paper, and disappointments like this are just not acceptable. A seven-time world champion came here to revive your team, and you’re continuing to fail him in a continuous manner.

It’s not better for Leclerc, either. Although the Monegasque driver has much better form than Hamilton, he’s not really in a position to capitalize on it. Yes, he scored all of the podiums for Ferrari in 2025, but at the end of the day, that doesn’t really matter when in situations like this, you cannot put the car where it’s supposed to be—the front row. In a weekend where the McLarens are absolutely disastrous, for Ferrari to allow themselves to not have a car on the front row is disappointing, let alone have their challengers start at P10 and P12.

From this point onwards, there are tons of internal questions that need to be asked because while our expectations have been set very low for Ferrari in 2025, I don’t think we expected to be this disappointed all of the time. It looks like there are tons of excuses being made by both the team and the drivers, but both Hamilton and Leclerc are put in a position where they have to defend the strategies of their team. It’s not looking great when you are disappointing Lewis and Charles on a weekly basis, because now that Ferrari is set to be highly competitive from 2026 onwards, they won’t have nearly as much trust as needed in their team to make it work. It’s not just the engine; it’s an entire team effort. You need to have all of the stars aligned, and strategy as well as communication plays a key role in it.

Just look at Verstappen; even when he is not in competition for the championship, he never fails to capitalize on the opportunity and seize a pole position or a race win. At the end of the day, that’s what Leclerc lacks, and that’s probably what Hamilton is dying to have in Ferrari, but the team’s dynamics and choices are just not allowing him.

As for Leclerc, with every day that passes as a Ferrari driver in his prime, doubts will keep rising as to whether or not he believes that this is the team with which he can raise his maiden championship. Obviously, it’s not a great indicator when you look at what’s happening right now. But then again, 2026 will be the first year in which Ferrari will have a proper restart of the regulations that could go their way. Yes, 2022 saw them have a very solid start with a 46-point lead in just three races, but the downfall couldn’t have been predicted at all. That’s something that Ferrari will look to avoid with the 2026 regulations, and quite frankly, I don’t think they have the luxury to bin it. The dissatisfaction in their drivers is growing, and it might even push Leclerc to seek another option outside of the team that brought him to the level he is today.

With all this in mind, what do you think about the drivers’ anger towards Ferrari, and more importantly, can they turn their fortunes around in the remainder of 2025? Let us know in the comments below.