Frustrated Charles Leclerc Refuses to Accept Ferrari’s Current Crisis

Charles Leclerc made his frustration clear after finishing sixth for Ferrari at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. The Monegasque driver struggled all weekend, starting 11th on the grid after being knocked out in Q2.

He pushed hard in the race, fighting back through the pack, but it was not enough to satisfy him or his team’s high expectations. After another difficult outing, Leclerc said he “cannot accept” the current situation at Ferrari, where results have fallen short in recent rounds.

Leclerc’s season started with promise, but after Imola he remains 85 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri. So far this year, he has managed just one podium—a third-place finish at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

In Imola, Leclerc risked everything, racing close with both Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon. Stewards looked into his move with Albon but deemed it a racing incident, and Leclerc said afterward that he did not regret any decisions made during the race.

He explained that, starting from the middle of the grid, he felt forced to push the limits and take risks just to gain ground. Ferrari has experienced a dip in form since the opening phase of the season.

Leclerc admitted the problems are exposing weaknesses that he finds hard to live with as a top driver. He recalled last year’s emotional win at Monaco, where he broke a long winless streak at home.

Now, approaching the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix, Leclerc has doubts about repeating that performance. He described the coming weekend as a “very difficult” challenge, pointing to the unique demands of Monaco and the setup issues that have troubled Ferrari’s car. For more on the history and challenges of the Monaco circuit, check out the official Formula 1 guide.

He remains hopeful that with the right adjustments, there could still be some positive surprises. The Imola race was tough from a strategy standpoint as well.

Leclerc made the bold choice to skip a second pit stop under a late safety car, aiming to gain track position. This decision left him with older tires and in tight battles during the race’s closing laps.

He told reporters that, under these circumstances, every point counts, and he found himself racing hard with rivals like Gasly and Albon. Despite narrowly missing out on a higher finish, Leclerc stated that he felt he had given everything, though it did little to lift his disappointment.

Within Ferrari, expectations remain high and pressure intense as the team chases performance improvements. Leclerc expressed determination to keep pushing, but acknowledged that the current gap to the front is difficult to accept. For a deeper understanding of Ferrari’s technical challenges, you can explore FIA’s technical regulations.

He emphasized that both he and Ferrari need to find solutions quickly before the gap to their main competitors becomes impossible to recover. With tough races still ahead and his home Grand Prix in Monaco next on the schedule, Leclerc and the Ferrari team know the clock is ticking.

Leclerc struggled all weekend, starting 11th on the grid after being knocked out in Q2, a qualifying session that saw Oscar Piastri take pole position. The details of this Imola qualifying added to the challenging weekend for Ferrari. For more insights into qualifying strategies, visit Motorsport.com’s analysis.

Daniel Miller

Daniel Miller reports on Formula 1 Grand Prix weekends with race-day analysis, team-radio highlights, and point-standings updates. He explains power-unit upgrades, aerodynamic developments, and driver rivalries in straightforward, SEO-friendly language for a global F1 audience.