In his seventh season as a Ferrari driver, Charles Leclerc has not been fazed one iota by the arrival of Method 1’s most profitable driver of all time within the storage subsequent to him.
Charles Leclerc
Finest
Worst
GP begin
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11
GP end
2
14
Factors
151
However the issues Ferrari has skilled with its automotive clearly got here as a profound disappointment and frustration. Having ended final yr as an everyday contender for victories, Leclerc will need to have anticipated to be within the hunt for the title this yr, however after 14 rounds the workforce is but to take a victory in a grand prix.
Leclerc has persistently performed his finest with a automotive which has too hardly ever impressed the arrogance he must unleash the devastating one-lap tempo we’ve come to count on from him. The SF-25 additionally seems to be a very difficult automotive in moist circumstances.
Each traits had been clear within the season-opener at Melbourne, the place Leclerc certified a disappointing seventh and completed one place decrease within the grand prix. The depth of the workforce’s plight was highlighted in China, the place Leclerc was fast sufficient to beat his dash race-winning workforce mate within the grand prix, however each vehicles had been disqualified for technical infringements.
Nonetheless, Leclerc persevered, and floor out some robust outcomes. He certified effectively at Suzuka and beat the Mercedes for fourth, then claimed a fantastic second on the grid in Bahrain however couldn’t maintain Lando Norris again for third. In Jeddah, nonetheless, he produced a terrific drive to assert Ferrari’s first podium end of the yr, out-running the recovering Norris.
Leclerc’s persistently stronger tempo than workforce mate Lewis Hamilton has led to some grief when the pair have intersected on-track, as in China and, notably, Miami. The workforce dealt with the scenario extra efficiently in Imola the place neither driver managed to get into Q3 however Leclerc, after a luckless race, performed the workforce recreation to assist Hamilton.
As Ferrari started to become familiar with their automotive, Leclerc delivered some stand-out drives. He confirmed his normal aptitude in Monaco the place solely an excellent qualifying lap from Norris stored Leclerc from a severe likelihood of repeating his 2024 win. A second consecutive podium end adopted in Spain the place he sacrificed grid place for brisker tyres, a choice which paid off when the Security Automobile arrived late within the race, enabling him to pounce on Max Verstappen.
Canada proved a setback, Leclerc qualifying solely eighth after a crash in follow, from the place he recovered to fifth. However he was again on the rostrum in Austria, comfortably the strongest driver behind the McLaren pair, taking third.
There’s no doubting Silverstone was Leclerc’s worst efficiency of the season to date. A hasty gamble on slick tyres in the beginning proved the precursor to a grim afternoon the place he grappled together with his Ferrari on a humid observe and went off greater than as soon as, taking Carlos Sainz Jnr’s Williams with him at one stage.
Nonetheless armed with a ground improve at Spa, Leclerc banished the reminiscence of that slog to 14th place by returning to the rostrum with an excellent drive, narrowly out-qualifying Verstappen and holding him off all the best way. A shock pole place on the Hungaroring regarded prone to yield one other podium till Leclerc suffered some mysterious automotive downside within the second half of the race.
It stays to be seen whether or not the step ahead Ferrari have with their automotive will likely be sufficient for them to problem for victory over any of the remaining 10 races. But when they will, Leclerc appears to be like way more possible to take action than Hamilton.
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