As the 2025 F1 season hits its halfway mark, Charles Leclerc heads into the British GP at Silverstone with a sense of cautious optimism. With three podiums in the last four races, Ferrari’s form has been encouraging, but the Monegasque driver remains grounded, aware of the challenges still ahead.
Will victory come for Leclerc?
When asked about his recent run of form and expectations for the weekend, Leclerc acknowledged the progress but made it clear that the goal remains the top step of the F1 podium, especially at the British GP.
“Yeah. I mean, first of all, I think we are quite satisfied with the latest tendency. We are improving step by step. We are not fully satisfied yet because obviously the end target is to try and win races.
“But going into this race, I think it’s a race in the past where we were pretty competitive. Lewis has always been exceptional here as well, so I hope we can have a great weekend and hopefully have a shot for victory. I mean, it’s been a long time since we last fought for victory, so I hope this weekend is the one,” Leclerc said in the press conference.
Season so far: “Much tougher… than what we expected”
Reflecting on the season so far, Leclerc didn’t shy away from admitting that things haven’t gone according to plan.
“Much tougher first part of the season than what we expected. I think when you end up last year like we did fighting for victories, fighting for the World Constructors’ Championship, we started this year hoping that at least we’d start in the same position, which was not the case.
“We struggled a bit more. But now we are finding our way again with the development. It definitely helped us to do some steps forward. I know that there are more things coming, hopefully as soon as possible, which will help us to close the gap to McLaren, to Red Bull as well.
“Mercedes seems to be maybe a bit more up and down. But it’s up to us to do a better job than others and try and catch the guys in front.”
And what’s his outlook for the rest of the year?
“I don’t know. I hope brighter than the first one.”
Doing “everything” to improve
Ferrari still has updates in the pipeline, and Leclerc is hopeful—though realistic—about their potential impact at the British GP.
“I’ll be worried if I didn’t think that way because obviously we are doing everything in order to close that gap as much as possible. We are going to try and bring upgrades as soon as possible that will tackle some of the weaknesses we have. I’m sure it will close the gap.
“Whether it will close completely the gap, I don’t think so. It’s a significant advantage that they have at the moment, and it’s not down to only one upgrade or one part of the car. I think it’s a multitude of upgrades in order to get to the level.
“But little by little, at least if we are close enough to put them under pressure, I hope that we can force them into a bit more mistakes because at the moment, they’ve got too much margin for us to be putting any kind of pressure.”
On Ferrari’s pattern of early-season struggles
Ferrari has a history of ending seasons strongly only to stumble at the start of the next. Leclerc believes the reasons for this year’s struggles are different but accepts that the team must do better to begin campaigns stronger.
“I can definitely say that the two reasons of why we did a step back are definitely not related at all. But again, I felt like we learned from our mistakes.
“I just hope that at one point, we manage to build a strong car from the start and have a very strong season from start to finish, which hasn’t really been the case so far.
“But yeah, we’re working in the right direction. I just hope that we don’t end up finding another issue in few months. But this you never know.
“Especially with those cars, I think it’s not only us in this situation, but many teams are in this situation where it’s very difficult to find your way because you always tend to find another barrier along the development line. So, yeah, we’re working well, and I just hope that we find our way now.”
On the 2026 simulator: “A little bit less nice to drive”
Leclerc recently tested the 2026 regulations in Ferrari’s simulator, and while his comments made headlines, he clarified that the driving feel is the core issue, not necessarily a lack of competitiveness.
“Oh, it’s so different that for sure I don’t confuse which car I’m driving.
“But to put back into context my comments that I did, it wasn’t really specific to our team, which I’ve seen did headlines saying that we are struggling or whatsoever.
“I was just meaning that the new direction for us drivers is a little bit less attractive and a little bit less nice to drive overall. But it’s the way it is.
“I still find the motivation in the challenge of making these new regs as fast as possible. If we are competitive, I’m sure that I will start to like it a lot more. If not, then I’ll probably hate it a lot. But I hope it won’t be the case.”
On qualifying in 2025: “We are very slow”
Fred Vasseur recently suggested that this could be a championship decided by qualifying, given that eight of the season’s races have been won from pole. Leclerc partly agrees, though not without a hint of humour and frustration.
“I mean, I kind of agree. It’s a big shame because we are very slow in qualifying. I wish it was the other way around, but I also think that it makes it look that way because McLaren is very often on pole position this year, and they are the fastest car by quite some margin in most of the tracks.
“So then they end up also winning on the Sunday, which makes sense. So, yeah. I don’t know. I mean, he has a point for sure. Numbers say so.
“I just hope looking at ourselves that we’re going to improve our qualifying in order to be a bit more in the mix for victories.”
Leclerc heads into the British GP focused, pragmatic, and quietly determined. Ferrari’s trajectory appears positive, but in F1, progress is measured in fractions, and the top is as far as it is unforgiving. Whether this weekend is finally “the one” remains to be seen.
