Charles Leclerc isn’t holding back about his frustrations with Ferrari’s SF-25 after qualifying fourth for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Sure, P4 isn’t a disaster, but the Monegasque driver made it clear that the car just isn’t delivering what he needs to fight at the very front.
“I’m not happy, I’m really not happy” Leclerc admitted bluntly after the session. “Finishing P4 in qualifying is really good, I put everything out there, but for now the performance of the car is just not there.”
He explained that the SF-25 is stuck in a no-man’s-land between understeer and oversteer, leaving him without the grip to match the pace of Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri and George Russell ahead. Even though he’s squeezing every last drop out of the car, the raw speed just isn’t there.
Leclerc did say he’s found a setup that works for him, but that’s not enough. “At the moment I feel good in the car. I think I found the sweet spot of the car that matches my driving style” he said. “But the potential is just not yet at the level I want.”
Ferrari rolled out upgrades for Jeddah, hoping to close the gap to their rivals. Sadly, they didn’t make the difference Leclerc was hoping for. “I’m a bit disappointed because we had a few upgrades that should have helped, but the gap seems to be pretty similar to before” he admitted.
The upgrades did work — just not enough to shift the pecking order. “The others have done as much of a step, which means that the gap hasn’t really changed” he added.
Starting fourth isn’t a terrible position, but Leclerc knows he deserves more. With the race still to come, all eyes will be on whether Ferrari can turn things around — or if their star driver will be left frustrated once again.
