Charles Leclerc ended the 2024 Method 1 season as one of many strongest performers on the grid, exhibiting top-tier type and positioning himself as a severe contender heading into the brand new 12 months. Nonetheless, the early races of 2025 have painted a really completely different image. Regardless of excessive expectations, the Monegasque driver has been unable to take care of the momentum that outlined the tip of his earlier marketing campaign.
On the season finale in Abu Dhabi final 12 months, Charles Leclerc and then-teammate Carlos Sainz have been inside placing distance of securing Ferrari’s first Constructors’ Championship title since 2008. Leclerc delivered one in all his most spectacular drives in Method 1, climbing from the again of the grid to complete on the rostrum. But, it was Lando Norris’ triumph that in the end denied Ferrari the championship, leaving the Scuderia and its followers disenchanted however hopeful.
With Lewis Hamilton now alongside him in crimson, Charles Leclerc entered the 2025 season optimistic that Ferrari might construct on their late-season type and shut the remaining hole to McLaren. Nonetheless, these hopes started to fade early. Regardless of promising indicators throughout pre-season testing, Ferrari’s efficiency rapidly regressed when racing started in Australia, and their standing because the second-best workforce was quickly in query. The state of affairs deteriorated additional in China, the place a double disqualification marked the low level of the marketing campaign up to now. After 4 rounds, Ferrari languishes in fourth place within the standings, trailing McLaren by almost 100 factors.
Even when the Maranello workforce confirmed glimpses of potential in Bahrain—the place each the Monegasque and the Briton achieved their greatest outcomes of the season—the general temper within the camp remained subdued. Charles Leclerc, particularly, expressed considerations following the race, revealing rising dissatisfaction with Ferrari’s automotive improvement and improve schedule.
Talking on The Race F1 Podcast, journalist Jon Noble defined that Ferrari might have already reached the higher restrict of their automotive’s present capabilities. He recounted a post-race dialogue with Leclerc through which the motive force shared his view that Ferrari’s race technique in Bahrain, whereas showing aggressive because of a tyre offset, masked the automotive’s elementary shortcomings. In keeping with Charles Leclerc, the SF-25 merely lacks the tempo to battle persistently on the entrance and stays removed from matching McLaren’s efficiency, particularly in tyre administration and uncooked velocity.
Ferrari’s strategic transfer through the Bahrain GP—using a unique tyre strategy and pitting below the protection automotive—initially hinted at the opportunity of a stronger end. Nonetheless, an absence of accessible medium tyres compelled the workforce to modify to the arduous compound for the ultimate stint, which considerably restricted their competitiveness. Leclerc, moderately than being inspired by the outcome, considered the tyre offset as deceptive and made it clear that the automotive’s efficiency deficit stays important.
When requested in regards to the timeline for upgrades, the Monegasque driver reportedly expressed frustration, noting that Ferrari’s deliberate enhancements wouldn’t arrive quickly sufficient to vary their fortunes within the rapid time period. His response underscored the rising hole between expectations and actuality for the Italian workforce.
The beginning of the 2025 Method 1 season has been notably disheartening for Charles Leclerc when in comparison with his earlier years at Ferrari. Getting into the brand new season, he had each cause to imagine he might problem not solely the McLaren duo but in addition reigning champion Max Verstappen. Nonetheless, these ambitions have but to materialize, and for the primary time since 2021, Ferrari has did not safe a single podium end within the first 4 races of the F1 marketing campaign.
The distinction between Charles Leclerc’s dominant finish to 2024 and his present struggles is stark. Ferrari’s lack of ability to develop rapidly sufficient and ship the upgrades required to compete on the entrance has left their lead driver disillusioned. Because the championship begins to slide farther from their grasp, it’s clear that the Scuderia should act swiftly if they’re to get better—and in the event that they want to hold the Monegasque’s religion in the long run.
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