Ferrari are ‘likely’ suffering one problem that hurts Charles Leclerc ‘every time’ but new suspension won’t fix it

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Ferrari are about to introduce what might be the final major upgrades they run in the 2025 F1 season in Belgium and Hungary, yet they still might not help Charles Leclerc.

The Scuderia have been hard at work in recent weeks to finalise further upgrades in time for Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton to use them before the summer break. F1 will hit pause for four weeks following the Belgian Grand Prix on July 27 and Hungarian Grand Prix on August 3.

It is believed that the upgrades Ferrari are due to debut at the Belgian GP and Hungarian GP will be the final major upgrades that the Scuderia introduce this year. Technical director Loic Serra is keen to put his full focus on designing Ferrari’s car for the 2026 F1 regulations again.

Ferrari welcomed Serra to Maranello after joining from Mercedes, like Hamilton, too late to influence the design of the SF-25. But Serra has now overseen the rear suspension upgrade that Ferrari will debut at Spa, which they tested with a filming day at Mugello this Thursday.

Ferrari are ‘likely’ suffering an energy management issue in Q3 that hurts Charles Leclerc

Leclerc did not feel a big difference from Ferrari’s rear suspension upgrade whilst competing 100km with the update at Mugello, but cautious optimism spread in the garage. Ferrari plan to debut a power steering upgrade in Hungary to address complaints from their drivers, too.

The updates also follow the floor and rear diffuser upgrades Ferrari debuted at the Austrian Grand Prix. But the floor, diffuser, power steering and rear suspension updates will not solve the ‘likely’ energy management problem that has plagued Ferrari during qualifying sessions.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory

That is according to The Race, which reports that Ferrari have suffered a mysterious issue in Q3 sessions that ‘likely’ relates to their power unit and how it is affected by the build-up of temperature. Their issue has only added to Leclerc’s difficulties to deliver in Q3 this season.

“I’m not doing the job,” Leclerc noted, via The Race. “Since the beginning of the season, I’ve been performing very well in the races and there are actually not many races where I will go back to change something that I’ve done inside the car.

“Unfortunately, when I look back at qualifying, which used to be my strength, there are many where I’d like to go back and change something because every time I get to Q3, it’s not clicking for some reason.”

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc struggled in qualifying for the British Grand Prix due to Ferrari’s power unit

The suggestion that Leclerc’s qualifying problems have in part been caused by Ferrari having an energy management issue in Q3 sessions supports another theory for why Hamilton and the 27-year-old only achieved P5 and P6 on the grid for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Hamilton set the pace in Q2 at his home event with Leclerc in second place, yet the former was then 0.011s slower in Q3 and the latter only improved his time by 0.012s. A suggestion later surfaced that Ferrari developed an unexpected power problem in Q3 at the British GP.

The issue only became evident when Ferrari put Hamilton and Leclerc’s power units in their Q3 mode at Silverstone. Also, theories have emerged about Ferrari’s fuel pump even being another potential reason behind their recent problems, which a new suspension will not fix.