Leclerc laments Ferrari’s limitations: ‘We’re passengers to the car’

Charles Leclerc delivered a somber reflection on the state of Ferrari’s F1 campaign, admitting that its SF-25 has reached the limit of its potential – and that he and teammate Lewis Hamilton have become mere “passengers” in a car that refuses to yield more performance.

After another frustrating weekend that saw Ferrari finish outside the top five once again, Leclerc’s tone was one of weary resignation, a stark contrast to the optimism that once defined Maranello’s season.

In addition to its performance woes at Marina Bay, Ferrari’s struggles were compounded by severe brake management issues that plagued both drivers from the opening laps.

“From lap 8, basically, it was all about managing those brakes,” Leclerc explained after crossing the checkered flag in sixth position, with Hamilton trailing in eighth.

“I think everybody has to manage, to a certain extent, on a track like this. But I think we were on the worst side of things and that makes it extremely difficult. Our whole race was very tricky.”

It was yet another chapter in a disheartening stretch for the Italian outfit, following an equally uncompetitive outing in Baku. Singapore was meant to be the reversal – only for worsening problems to dictate otherwise.

A Car That Can’t Fight

Leclerc’s frustration runs deep – toward the fundamental lack of pace that has left Ferrari trailing its rivals in every meaningful metric.

“Unfortunately, we don't have the race car to fight with the guys in front,” the Monegasque conceded.

“McLaren has always had the same gap on us compared to the beginning of the year. Red Bull did a step from Monza and had the same level of McLaren. Mercedes now is at the same level of McLaren and Red Bull, and then there's us.

“It's not easy, obviously, because you want to fight for better positions. But at the moment, it just feels like we're kind of passengers to the car and we cannot extract much more.”

That helpless feeling, Leclerc explained, extends to the SF-25’s erratic handling – a car that seems to resist its drivers’ touch rather than respond to it.

Understeery in one corner, unpredictable in the next, the machine’s behavior has left both Leclerc and Hamilton grasping for consistency. But it has also dulled expectations for the remainder of the campaign.

“The picture we've seen this weekend is going to be what the rest of the season looks like for us,” Leclerc admitted somberly.

Motivated to Turn Fortunes Around

For Leclerc, Ferrari’s stagnation recalls the bleakness of 2021, a year of rebuilding that was supposed to be long behind him. The contrast with the last season, when Ferrari missed the constructors’ title by just 14 points to McLaren, makes the current decline even harder to accept.

“Obviously, coming from a year like last year, where you are fighting for the world constructors’ championship and then you come here with high expectations, you come low of your expectations from the beginning and you don't even see a progression throughout the year, it's not easy,” he confessed.

And yet, amid the frustration, Leclerc refuses to surrender his drive – even if the car won’t reward it.

“It takes a lot of energy, but that doesn't demotivate me,” he insisted. “It motivates me, if anything, much more to try and turn the situation around.”

For now, though, Ferrari’s brightest talent sounds like a man trapped – determined to fight, but painfully aware he’s fighting with a weapon that won’t listen.

Read also: Hamilton ‘feeling the pain’ for Ferrari team after Singapore misery

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