Despite clinching a solid fourth on the grid at Suzuka, Charles Leclerc struck a reflective and realistic tone after Japanese GP Qualifying.
He acknowledged both the progress he’s made with his personal setup and the current performance gap Ferrari faces against Red Bull and McLaren.
Are Ferrari behind McLaren and Mercedes?
Charles Leclerc ended the session behind Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, and Oscar Piastri, admitting the car still lacks the grip to fight at the very front. Though, his own comfort behind the wheel is improving.
“Honestly, I feel like we’re even a bit behind Mercedes in terms of actual pace.
“But in race pace, I’ve done quite a lot of changes over the weekend. I’m in a very different place compared to the beginning of the season and I feel a lot more at ease with the car. So, maybe I hope it can surprise us in a good way.”
The Monegasque revealed that while Ferrari hasn’t yet unlocked major performance gains, he has personally found a better understanding of how to extract the most from the SF-25.
“I’m finding answers on what I need, which is good already, but that’s not unlocking so much performance,” he explained. “But I can be at 100% of the car more often, that’s for sure.”
Still, he was candid about the limits of what setup gains can achieve without upgrades.
“The performance and the overall grip remains the overall grip, and this I cannot change,” Leclerc said. “Hopefully, with the upgrades that we will have during the season, it will help us to close the gaps to the guys in front.”
Charles Leclerc says Ferrari not fast enough during Japanese GP Qualifying
Ferrari’s lack of high-speed cornering performance remains a weakness, and Leclerc admitted the team doesn’t have enough overall load at the moment.
“It’s just that we are not fast enough, and we don’t have enough grip to match what McLaren and Red Bull are doing in corners.”
With rain potentially hitting the race on Sunday, Leclerc also addressed the team’s Melbourne misstep and whether Ferrari has worked to improve its decision-making under pressure.
“There’s been some work, of course. And there’s always analysis whenever we get a call wrong, to try and understand and grow from that.
“This time also with the experience of Lewis, we tried to understand if there was any gap that we could improve.”
While Ferrari fans might still be waiting for a major breakthrough, Leclerc’s newfound confidence in the car could be a key piece of the puzzle in the future, especially with development still to come. And in a sport measured in tenths and hundredths, having a driver able to push at 100% more often might make all the difference when opportunities arise.
