Leclerc’s brutal ‘passengers’ verdict as Ferrari F1 2025 woes deepen

Charles Leclerc believes that the trio of McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull has now converged at the front of the grid, leaving Ferrari behind.

Alas, Leclerc described he and Lewis Hamilton as “passengers” in the Ferrari SF-25 machine, following another frustrating weekend which produced sixth for Leclerc and eighth for Hamilton in Singapore. Both drivers were blighted by braking issues.

Ferrari in F1 2025: Hope fading?

Five grands prix have been and gone without a Ferrari podium, in which time Red Bull and Mercedes returned to the victory scene. Max Verstappen claimed back-to-back wins in Monza and Baku, while George Russell triumphed for Mercedes at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Ferrari has been left very much on the outside of this battle looking in, which led Leclerc to claim a stark reality, that being he and Hamilton now reduced to “passengers” in the car.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have the race car to fight with the guys in front,” said Leclerc after the race in Singapore.

“McLaren always had the same gap on us compared to the beginning of the year. Red Bull did a step from Monza and are 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 are passengers to the car and we cannot extract much more.”

He added: “The picture we’ve seen this weekend is going to be what the rest of the season looks like for us.”

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton head-to-head in F1 2025

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

Leclerc is not unaccustomed to challenging times at Ferrari. 2020 quickly comes to mind, the year when Ferrari was restricted to sixth in the Constructors’ Championship.

But, as Ferrari fights to keep up in the F1 2025 P2 battle, Leclerc was asked if this is one of the more difficult seasons he has experienced at Ferrari.

“I wouldn’t describe it as the most difficult,” he replied. “I think every time you don’t fight for wins, it’s difficult.

“But 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.”

In a positive for Ferrari, Leclerc insists that his motivation has not dropped, despite the alarming picture he paints.

Asked if it is difficult to manage his frustration, or feels worn down by it, Leclerc replied: “Yeah, I mean, it takes a lot of energy, but that doesn’t demotivate me.

“I mean, it motivates me, if anything, much more to try and turn the situation around.

“It’s very tough, especially after a race like today, where you are not even fighting for a podium, you have to manage lots of issues. It’s just not a nice feeling.”

Ferrari sits third in the Constructors’ standings with six rounds to go. Mercedes is 27 points ahead, and Red Bull eight points behind.

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