Red Mist: How about a Ferrari that works in Qualifying as well?

Saturday was difficult to swallow for us Tifosi. Both Ferrari drivers out in Q2. WTF? Worst of all, this was supposed to be the first part of a new upgrade that Fred Vasseur solemnly promised would bring improvement. Yet there we were, out for the count.

“We made so many positive steps through the weekend and the car felt better through practice,” Lewis Hamilton rued after Ferrari’s first-ever failure to qualify in the top ten at home at Imola. “But when we put the new tyres on, that just didn't switch on. And everyone else... they clearly managed to switch their tyres on.”

So the whole Red world went to bed miserable on Saturday night. If you’re like me, after too much wine too. So Sunday never dawned too bright. Against all odds, however, Lewis and Charles once again delivered. The car was quick, the quickest at many phases too.

Which leaves all of us pondering whether what’s coming will concentrate on what we achieve on a Saturday. Because Sunday we seemed as good as Lewis was in that China sprint. Had he been able to start on pole again… who knows…

“I felt real synergy with the car today, the set-up was great,” Hamilton admitted after the race. “We made an improvement today, but had we qualified better, we’d be fighting for a podium. That’s something we did not think was possible.”

Charles Leclerc added. “There was just not enough performance in the car yesterday. We must qualify better. Starting P11, today we had to put the elbows out, go very much on the limit, sometimes a little bit over.”

Heading to Monaco, where Leclerc finally won his home race for the first time last year, he is less confident for 2025: “I’m expecting a very difficult weekend at home,” Charles concluded. “I think Monaco will expose a few weaknesses in our car, so I’m not sure what to expect, but I hope we can be surprised.”

Beyond Monte Carlo, however, the next race is in Spain, where Ferrari is expected to roll out the rest of that hallowed upgrade. So, Fred, Ferrari, what are we doing about our dismal qualifying pace? Is the second bit of your upgrade capable of seeing us up to the front two rows? God forbid, pole position?

Considering Imola’s race pace, once again, a half-decent qualifying is probably all we need to be right in there, every weekend.