Charles Leclerc is often described as a driver who comes alive on Saturdays, renowned for his prowess in qualifying. However, for most of 2025, the Monegasque has been happier with his performances on race day.
Leclerc is struggling to string together the perfect lap in the SF-25, which is something he is working on with Ferrari.
Leclerc unhappy with recent qualifying form
To some extent, Leclerc has been a victim of his own success with regards to his race pace.
Because of his prolific qualifying results throughout his career, the 27-year-old’s relative strength on race day is often overlooked.
However, this year has emphasised that Leclerc is more than capable of hitting all cylinders in a Grand Prix.
Despite Ferrari’s shortcomings, the #16 car has claimed several podium finishes this season.
Whenever the SF-25 has been capable of giving Mercedes and Red Bull headaches, Leclerc has been there to capitalise.
However, this does not mean there is not room for improvement.
Ferrari’s Austrian GP updates unlocked a few tenths of performance, putting the team closer to McLaren.
Whilst McLaren are still comfortably fastest on Sundays, they are certainly within striking distance of the other front-runners in qualifying.
This has compounded Leclerc’s frustration in recent months, increasingly dissatisfied with his results on Saturday.
Speaking to the media in Silverstone, he was candid about his discomfort in the SF-25:
“Yeah, horrible. Nothing really to say, I think the pace was there for the front row but I eventually didn’t do the job when I needed to.
“I lost the car in the last two corners and lost a lot of lap time.
“That’s been the story of the season, I need to find back my rhythm in Qualifying – because I’m really struggling and I’m not putting everything together.
“And all the time I get out of the car there’s always one thing that hasn’t gone my way in Qualifying.
“So I’m very frustrated with myself more than anything.
“I know that in the race I’m doing a really good job generally, but I’ve got to put everything together.”
Ferrari battle to make both drivers more comfortable
Of course, Leclerc is not the only driver at Ferrari with complaints about the SF-25.
Lewis Hamilton’s complaints about this year’s car are well known – even if he’s felt more at ease since the Austria upgrades.
Still, Fred Vasseur’s personnel need to increase the SF-25’s operating window for both drivers.
Inevitably, with varying driving styles, Hamilton and Leclerc will have slightly different responses to different characteristics.
Ultimately, though, effective updates are felt by both drivers – as opposed to one specifically.
At McLaren, for example, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris’ preferences have been exposed as being markedly different – yet the papaya outfit have managed to accommodate both driving styles.
In a similar way, Ferrari must ensure both drivers feel they can push to extract that final tenth.
Both Hamilton and Leclerc were in contention for Pole Position in Silverstone before making errors in Sector 3.
These mistakes, while in theory preventable, demonstrated the SF-25’s most inherent limitations.
If Ferrari’s next updates can make even incremental improvements, the impact could be substantial.
Main photo: Scuderia Ferrari media gallery
