Leclerc Stays Hopeful as Ferrari Struggles in Australia

Leclerc Stays Hopeful as Ferrari Struggles in Australia

15/03/2025

Ferrari’s qualifying woes in Melbourne shocked many, but Charles Leclerc remains optimistic, believing the SF-25 still holds untapped potential.

Ferrari entered the Australian Grand Prix weekend with high hopes, showing strong pace in practice. Charles Leclerc even topped the second free practice session, raising expectations that the team could challenge for pole position. However, when it mattered most in qualifying, Ferrari fell short.

Leclerc ended up seventh on the grid, just ahead of his new teammate, Lewis Hamilton, in eighth. Initially competitive in Q3—only a tenth behind Max Verstappen after his first run—Leclerc failed to improve on his final lap. In the end, he was over six-tenths off Lando Norris’ pole time, a drop-off that surprised the team.

Struggling to Keep Up

Leclerc admitted that Ferrari seemed to lose pace as the sessions progressed.

“As we pushed the car harder, we started noticing more inconsistencies, which is frustrating,” he explained.
“We lost pace throughout qualifying—Q1 was strong, Q2 slightly less so, and in Q3, we had to push aggressively to extract the best lap possible. But for some reason, we didn’t keep up with the track evolution, and that’s something we need to analyze.”

Ferrari had been particularly strong in the final sector during practice, but that advantage disappeared in qualifying. Leclerc suggested that tire overheating played a role in their struggles.

“I think the final sector is where tires overheat the most. Today, I struggled a lot more than yesterday, so we’ll have to look into that.”

Setup Changes and Missed Opportunities

Ferrari made setup adjustments before the final practice session to improve the car’s balance, but Leclerc admitted they may have had unintended consequences.

“We lost competitiveness compared to yesterday, and we know what we changed. Now, we need to analyze whether that affected our performance negatively.”

Despite the struggles, Leclerc dismissed concerns that the SF-25 has a narrower operating window than last year’s car.

“I wouldn’t jump to conclusions yet. Q3 was particularly tough, but before that, I hadn’t noticed any major issues. We’ll need more time to evaluate.”

Looking Ahead: Race Day and Season Expectations

Even with a disappointing qualifying result, Leclerc remains optimistic about Ferrari’s overall pace.

“I hope we’ll be closer to McLaren in the race. The gap in Q3 doesn’t fully reflect our real potential. We lost balance at the wrong moment, which made it difficult to deliver a perfect lap.”

The Monegasque driver emphasized that Ferrari is still in the early stages of a long season.

“This is just the beginning. We need to stay calm, maximize our points tomorrow, and keep working. I believe this car has huge potential—we just need to find the right setup window.”

While qualifying was a setback, Leclerc’s confidence suggests Ferrari hasn’t shown its full hand yet. The true test will come in race conditions.

Ferrari Off-Pace Leclerc Eyes Recovery After Tough Quali. Ferrari's qualifying woes in Melbourne shocked many, but Charles Leclerc remains optimistic, believing the SF-25 still holds untapped potential.

Ferrari Off-Pace: Leclerc Eyes Recovery After Tough Quali Ferrari Off-Pace: Leclerc Eyes Recovery After Tough Quali

Race Center
China Flag
Chinese GP
21 Mar 2025 - 23 Mar 2025
Free Practice 1
21 MAR 03:30 - 04:30
Sprint Qual
21 MAR 07:30 - 08:14
Sprint Race
22 MAR 03:00 - 04:00
Qualifying
22 MAR 07:00 - 08:00
Race
23 MAR 07:00 - 09:00

2025 F1 Australian Grand Prix - Race Results

Lando Norris
1
LANDO
NORRIS
57
Max Verstappen
2
MAX
VERSTAPPEN
+0.895s
George Russell
3
GEORGE
RUSSELL
+8.481s
Alex Albon
4
ALEX
ALBON
+12.773s
Kimi Antonelli
5
KIMI
ANTONELLI
+15.135s
Lance Stroll
6
LANCE
STROLL
+17.413s
Nico Hulkenberg
7
NICO
HULKENBERG
+18.423s
Charles Leclerc
8
CHARLES
LECLERC
+19.826s
Oscar Piastri
9
OSCAR
PIASTRI
+20.448s
Lewis Hamilton
10
LEWIS
HAMILTON
+22.473s
Pierre Gasly
11
PIERRE
GASLY
+26.502s
Yuki Tsunoda
12
YUKI
TSUNODA
+29.884s
Esteban Ocon
13
ESTEBAN
OCON
+33.161s
Oliver Bearman
14
OLIVER
BEARMAN
+40.351s
Liam Lawson
15
LIAM
LAWSON
47 DNF
Gabriel Bortoleto
16
GABRIEL
BORTOLETO
47 DNF
Fernando Alonso
17
FERNANDO
ALONSO
34 DNF
Carlos Sainz
18
CARLOS
SAINZ
0 DNF
Jack Doohan
19
JACK
DOOHAN
0 DNF
Isack Hadjar
20
ISACK
HADJAR
0 DNF
F1 CALENDAR 2025
Race
Date
Chinese Flag
Chinese
Shanghai International
23 Mar
Japanese Flag
Japanese
Suzuka Circuit
6 Apr
Bahrain Flag
Bahrain
Sakhir desert
13 Apr
Saudi Arabia Flag
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street
20 Apr
United States Flag
United States
Miami
04 May

2025 FORMULA 1 DRIVERS' WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Lando Norris
1
LANDO
NORRIS
25 Points
Max Verstappen
2
MAX
VERSTAPPEN
18
George Russell
3
GEORGE
RUSSELL
15
Alex Albon
4
ALEX
ALBON
12
Kimi Antonelli
5
KIMI
ANTONELLI
10
Lance Stroll
6
LANCE
STROLL
8
Nico Hulkenberg
7
NICO
HULKENBERG
6
Charles Leclerc
8
CHARLES
LECLERC
4
Oscar Piastri
9
OSCAR
PIASTRI
2
Lewis Hamilton
10
LEWIS
HAMILTON
1

2025 FORMULA 1 CONSTRUCTORS' WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

1
McLaren
27
2
Mercedes
25
3
Red Bull
18
4
Williams
12
5
Aston Martin
8
6
Sauber
6
7
Ferrari
5
8
Alpine F1
0
9
Haas F1
0
10
Racing Bulls
0
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