14/08/2025 08:20
Charles Leclerc does not expect Ferrari to be the favourite at any
of the ten circuits remaining on the 2025 F1 calendar. The
Monegaque driver hopes to be "surprised", but nonetheless
anticipates McLaren will continue to have the strongest car for the
duration of the campaign. As the class of the field over the first
part of the year, the MCL39s of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have
won 11 of the opening 14 events, with only two Max Verstappen
victories and one for George Russell punctuating the Woking squad's
equilibrium. Leclerc secured a shock pole position at the final
round before the summer break, the Hungarian Grand Prix, and looked
to have the pace to triumph early in the race at the Hungaroring.
However, a mysterious issue with his SF025 curtailed his running,
and he slipped back, ultimately finishing fourth, behind the
McLarens and Russell's Mercedes. That came after the Ferrari driver
had highlighted the reigning constructors' champion's dominance,
having been asked if he could pinpoint a round in the second part
of the campaign he could win during media day on the outskirts of
Budapest. "I'm not sure," the eight-time grand prix winner replied
to media, including RacingNews365 . "I don't think there's one
track at the moment where we think we are stronger than McLaren."
Leclerc, who sits fifth in the drivers' championship standings on
151 points, touched upon the fluctuation in performance seen
between the three teams most closely chasing the Papaya outfit. 66
points separate Ferrari in second in the constructors' fight and
Red Bull in fourth, with Mercedes in between, and performance
between the trio has ebbed and flowed across the campaign Whilst
Verstappen and Russell, in third and fourth, have more points than
Leclerc, as well as their victories, the combination of him and
team-mate Lewis Hamilton has been the most equal, and Ferrari is
thus McLaren's closest rival, albeit 299 points behind. Leclerc
underlined McLaren being the "one constant" across the season as
the reason he does not believe Ferrari will be the favourites at
any of the remaining rounds. "Consistently, McLaren is going to be
the strongest car this year," the 27-year-old added. "Red Bull is a
little bit more up and down, a bit like us and Mercedes, but
there's one constant, and that is McLaren. "For now, I don't think
there's any tracks where I go to and think we will be the
favourite, but I hope I'll be surprised."
