Yesterday at 12:00
Charles Leclerc has told Ferrari it must "find what McLaren found"
as it tries to rescue its slow start to 2025. After pushing McLaren
close for the 2024 constructors' title, Ferrari is yet to win a
grand prix in '25 and currently sits third in the standings after
being overhauled by Mercedes in the Canadian Grand Prix for second,
although McLaren is still 197 points ahead of Mercedes. Leclerc has
taken all three of Ferrari's grand prix podiums in 2025 as the team
tries to solve balance and ride-height issues plaguing the SF-25,
which have limited Lewis Hamilton's performances. McLaren has been
the dominant car in F1 since an upgrade package was introduced at
the 2024 Miami Grand Prix, with tyre wear and controlling tyre
temperatures one area the machines of Lando Norris and Oscar
Piastri enjoy dominance over the rest of the field. Assessing the
situation, Leclerc felt it was also important for Ferrari to remain
calm after rumours emerged in the Italian media of him potentially
looking for an exit and the position of boss Fred Vasseur being
under threat. "I think none of us are satisfied with how it is
going at the moment, that is clear," Leclerc told media, including
RacingNews365, speaking before the Canadian Grand Prix, where
Mercedes overhauled Ferrari in the constructors'. "We came into
the season thinking that we had chances to challenge McLaren and
Red Bull in order to win the championship, and that has not been
the case so far. "McLaren has done a huge step forward compared to
last year, a lot more than anyone else, and if we compare ourselves
to our competitors other than McLaren, it is not like we are having
a shocking season. "We are second in the constructors', and as a
matter of fact, this is not good enough, and we're not happy about
that and we need to find what McLaren found, but we also need to be
careful with everything going on around the team, because sometimes
I think that can change the perception of someone's season.
"McLaren is doing an outstanding job, and we are absolutely not
happy with the situation we are in, but we just need to find
ourselves as well, just like Mercedes and Red Bull need to find the
outstanding thing McLaren has found."
