Leclerc : Ferrari needs 'freaking good' upgrade after Imola Q2 bust

A gloomy Charles Leclerc has admitted that Ferrari is facing a long and difficult road ahead after a crushing qualifying blow at the 2025 Formula 1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, where both he and teammate Lewis Hamilton were eliminated in Q2.

The result left the Scuderia duo starting Sunday’s race 11th and 12th respectively, triggering concern and frustration from Leclerc, who bluntly declared that only a “freaking good” upgrade can rescue the Italian outfit’s faltering campaign.

Adding insult to injury, the disastrous display came at the worst possible time – at Ferrari’s home race in Imola, in front of thousands of expectant Tifosi.

But after Friday’s practice sessions already hinted at trouble, Saturday’s qualifying confirmed that the SF-25 is still far off the pace, unable to match rivals even on a critical one-lap run.

“This Hurts” – Leclerc Admits Ferrari Has No Answers

“The best performance that we could give was in 11th and 12th place,” Leclerc said after the session, summing up Ferrari’s struggles with brutal honesty.

“This hurts, but I hope I can do some miracles tomorrow, to be completely honest, for now.

“There’s nothing that gives me hope for tomorrow’s pace, just because I think the potential of the car is not good enough at the moment.”

The Monegasque driver showed little confidence in Ferrari’s current trajectory, acknowledging that even with upgrades on the horizon, expectations must be tempered.

“It has to be a freaking good upgrade if we want for it to be a turning point.

“I honestly don’t think that, I hope that we will do a step in the right direction, but the road is a very long one ahead.”

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Ferrari had not expected major improvement from Miami, where Leclerc and Hamilton finished a muted seventh and eighth.

However, being knocked out in Q2 – particularly as both Aston Martins opted for medium tyres and still went faster – has sounded alarm bells in Maranello.

"Just the performance is not good enough"

When asked whether Ferrari’s qualifying woes were due to balance or setup issues, Leclerc was unequivocal.

“Performance, just performance,” he said. “We can do whatever with the balance, but at the end of the day, just the performance is not good enough.

“The race pace is strong; on a track like this, we knew how crucial qualifying was going to be, and we didn’t deliver.”

Leclerc also acknowledged an emerging problem with how the SF-25 handles fresh tyres during qualifying, pointing to a trend that has haunted Ferrari since the beginning of the season.

“We could say that, which has been a bit of a trend since the beginning of the season, so this is something we need to look at,” he admitted.

“With Q2, for example, I think I did my fastest lap on the scrubbed tyres.

“It’s also true that it wasn’t a proper scrub because I only had done one out-lap – we’ll have to look at it.”

As Ferrari prepares for another uphill battle on home soil, Leclerc’s remarks reflect a team on the back foot, desperate for a breakthrough but bracing for a prolonged struggle in the 2025 championship fight.

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