Ferrari can take one season-changing positive despite Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc’s Dutch Grand Prix crashes

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Ferrari still left the Dutch GP with a big positive, despite Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc registering their first double DNF in 31 Grands Prix at Zandvoort last Sunday.

The Scuderia had not seen both of their cars retire from a Grand Prix since June 2024 before last week’s Dutch GP. Leclerc and Carlos Sainz failed to finish the 2024 Canadian GP owing to the Monegasque’s engine failure and the Spaniard’s collision with Williams star Alex Albon.

Leclerc was the unfortunate victim of a collision this time in the Dutch GP, as the 27-year-old retired after being hit by Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli on Lap 53 of 72. Ferrari also saw their racer retire at the same corner as Hamilton had crashed on his own 30 laps earlier.

Hamilton crashed out of the Dutch GP on Lap 23, as he found the barrier after the rear of his SF-25 stepped out through Turn 3. Hugenholtzbocht later claimed the Briton’s teammate, as Antonelli took Leclerc out of the Dutch GP after he misjudged an overtake for seventh place.

Ferrari may have finally fixed their ride height issues at the Dutch Grand Prix

Ferrari’s woes at the Dutch GP were even compounded, as Hamilton must serve a five-place grid penalty in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza this Sunday. The 40-year-old failed to slow for the double-waved yellow flags out of the final turn on his reconnaissance laps at Zandvoort.

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside F1 from net worth to family

But the pride of Italy can still take one positive from what was a miserable result on paper in the Netherlands. Ferrari totally reconfigured Hamilton and Leclerc’s Dutch GP set-ups before qualifying, which successfully let the team run their cars nearer to the ground at Zandvoort.

Ferrari have struggled to run the SF-25 as low to the ground as the Scuderia need to unlock its full potential. Using their car’s optimal ride height has led to excessive wear to their floor skid plank, which was why Hamilton was disqualified from his P6 in the Chinese GP in March.

While Ferrari debuted a rear suspension upgrade at the Belgian GP, which they hoped would fix their ride height problems, questions also persisted going into the summer break. Ferrari compromised Leclerc’s hopes for winning the Hungarian GP to prevent excessive plank wear.

But Ferrari’s last-minute changes to Hamilton and Leclerc’s Dutch GP set-ups let the pride of Italy lower the ride height of their drivers’ cars without causing excessive floor plank wear at Zandvoort. The Scuderia would not benefit from their progress due to their crashes, though.

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc’s double DNF hid Ferrari’s progress at the Dutch GP

While his day finished in the barrier at Turn 3, Hamilton feels Ferrari made “real progress” at the Dutch GP as the 40-year-old felt his pace was “pretty decent” behind Mercedes driver George Russell. The two Britons stayed together in P6 and P7 until Hamilton found the wall.

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

The lack of overtaking chances at Zandvoort also stopped Leclerc from using his true race pace in the Dutch GP. Ferrari watched the Monegasque run behind Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar all race, until they called him in for a second pit stop to cover Antonelli on Lap 52/72.

Ferrari will now hope they can use what they learned from changing Hamilton and Leclerc’s set-ups before qualifying at Zandvoort to maximise the SF-25’s potential going forward with a lower ride height. It could change their season if the Scuderia have finally discovered a fix.

The F1 drivers’ championship and the constructors’ title are both firmly out of sight for the Scuderia with nine rounds to go. But being able to run Hamilton and Leclerc’s cars lower to the ground will help Ferrari stay above Mercedes and Red Bull in the fight for second place.