It can confidently be stated that the 2025 Formula 1 season is not “Ferrari’s Year.” For Charles Leclerc in Qatar, this is one of the weakest showings of pace that the car has displayed throughout the entire season.
Leclerc emerged from the sprint race earlier without scoring any points and eked through on very thin margins to Q3 in Grand Prix Qualifying later in the afternoon. He will be starting in P10, the final points-scoring position, with teammate Lewis Hamilton in P18.
To add insult to injury, Leclerc also lost the car on his first flying lap in Q3, nearly crashing into the barriers and adding on a repair job to an already ailing SF-25.
Charles Leclerc Left Uncharacteristically Pessimistic Heading Into the Qatar GP
In his post-qualifying interview, Charles struggled to explain the handling of his car with any other word than ‘difficult’. He was not alone, of course, with teammate Lewis Hamilton essentially without words after each of the sessions this weekend.
Oct 19, 2025; Austin, TX, USA; Scuderia Ferrari HP driver Charles Leclerc (16) of Team Monaco removes his protective equipment after the race at Circuit of The Americas Austin. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
Although Leclerc has, on the whole, had better performances than Lewis throughout the season, it is clear that the Ferrari is the 4th- or 5th-fastest car on the F1 Grid, holding both of its drivers back from better performances.
Even yesterday, Pierre Gasly of Alpine added his two cents, saying the SF-25 is simply that bad, keeping in mind that Alpine has consistently been the slowest car on the F1 grid for most of the season.
Charles has a bleak strategy and outlook heading into the Qatar Grand Prix tomorrow.
“The best thing I can do is reset for tomorrow and come back to the track motivated and try to do something special. That’s what I’ve tried to do this morning… It didn’t work out. I hope that it will work better tomorrow, but nothing that I felt with this car made me think that I will have a better feeling tomorrow. I’ll wait and try to maximize whatever is possible tomorrow. With safety cars hopefully we can get a little bit lucky…. that’s my only hope for tomorrow.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, P10Ferrari’s End of Season Championship Standings Freefall
Fans often make jokes about the performances of various Ferrari cars and teams over the years, but it is rare for drivers to acknowledge that they are on the same page as the fans’ online musings.
Nov 21, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton (44) during the Las Vegas Grand Prix at Las Vegas Strip Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Charles stated that he had zero hope heading into the race tomorrow, adding that his entire outlook on the car has truly changed throughout the 2025 F1 season.
“Am I optimistic for tomorrow? I am not… which is quite rare. I’m normally an optimistic person, but I have to say that there is 0 performance in this car. “
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, P10
As it stands, Ferrari has fallen to 4th in the F1 World Constructors’ Championship behind McLaren, Mercedes, and Red Bull, respectively. This would be the first year since 2020 that Ferrari hasn’t even ‘stood on the podium’ in the F1 Constructors’ Standings.
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