18/05/2025 11:20
Charles Leclerc has stated he has "no words" following Ferrari's
shock double Q2 exit at Imola on Friday. Leclerc could only muster
the 11th fastest lap time at the end of the segment, while
team-mate Lewis Hamilton was behind him in 12th. Ferrari entered
the season with high ambitions after narrowly missing out on
winning the constructors' title last year. However, it has taken
just one podium in the first six events, while Hamilton has enjoyed
success in the sprint races, finishing first and third in China and
Miami, respectively. But having consistently endured a big gap to
the front of the field, Ferrari brought upgrades to its home race
at Imola as it looked for a boost - but instead, it suffered its
worst qualifying result of the year. "Honestly, I don't even have
the words," Leclerc told media including RacingNews365 . "It's
frustrating. I'm very disappointed with the performance at the
moment. "I guess the only thing we can say is sorry for the fans
who have done many, many kilometres to come and see us, and the
best performance that we could give was 11th and 12th place. "So
this hurts, but I hope I can do some miracles [on Sunday]. "For
now, there's nothing that gives me hope for the [race] pace, just
because I think the potential of the car is not good enough."
Ferrari need 'freaking good upgrade' for recovery Further upgrades
are planned for Ferrari in the coming races as it looks to reclaim
the time deficit to rival squads. Ferrari team principal Frederic
Vasseur has also spotted an opportunity in the stricter flexi wing
tests imposed by the FIA from the Spanish Grand Prix, labelling it
as a "gamechanger". As it seeks to add further pace through new
parts, Leclerc highlighted minor gains will not be enough to bring
Ferrari back into contention. "It has to be a freaking good upgrade
if you want for it to be a turning point," Leclerc acknowledged. "I
hope that we will do a step in the right direction, but the road is
a very long one ahead. "We can do whatever we want with the balance
but at the end of the day, the performance is just not good
enough."
