Formula 1 Singapore GP
Charles Leclerc on Ferrari F1 struggles: “We’re passengers to the car”
As Ferrari becomes the clear fourth-fastest team in F1, Leclerc has a rather pessimistic opinion on the situation
Ben Vinel Cihangir Perperik
Edited: Oct 6, 2025, 10:32 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-25
Photo by: Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network
Charles Leclerc says he and Lewis Hamilton are “passengers” of Ferrari’s Formula 1 car, as they can’t outperform it to get back to the podium positions.
Ferrari has had tough weekends in Baku and Singapore, where the top five eluded the Scuderia in both qualifying and the race, with the lack of pace compounded by significant braking issues at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
“From lap 8, basically, it was all about managing those brakes,” Leclerc said after finishing sixth in Singapore, while Hamilton took eighth place. “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.”
Read Also:
In Baku, Leclerc had let Hamilton through to give him a chance to attack the cars in front, but the Briton failed to cede the position back to his team-mate. He was scheduled to do it in Singapore instead, but worsening braking problems meant he dropped behind Leclerc anyway.
“I really don't think that this is the biggest problem of the team at the moment,” the Monegasque however insisted.
“Unfortunately, we don't have the race car to fight with the guys in front. 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.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Photo by: Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network
“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.”
The ‘passenger’ feeling probably extends to the SF-25’s behaviour, which Leclerc described as understeery, yet “still very snappy and unpredictable”, after qualifying.
Hence his pessimism regarding the last six rounds of the campaign: “The picture we've seen this weekend is going to be what the rest of the season looks like for us.”
Read Also:
This is difficult to swallow for the 27-time polesitter and eight-time grand prix winner, who had not experienced such a lack of performance since the 2021 season – especially after Ferrari missed out to McLaren by 14 points for the 2024 constructors’ title.
“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,” Leclerc admitted, though he reiterated his unwavering drive to overcome this hardship.
“It takes a lot of energy, but that doesn't demotivate me." he said. "It motivates me, if anything, much more to try and turn the situation around.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article George Russell recreates classic Lewis Hamilton photo after Singapore GP win
Next article Martin Brundle apologises to Lewis Capaldi after "cardinal sin" in awkward grid walk moment
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Ben Vinel
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
Formula 1
Formula 1 25 min
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
McLaren to upgrade MCL40 car at its bogey F1 track Las Vegas
Formula 1
Formula 1
Las Vegas GP
7 h
McLaren to upgrade MCL40 car at its bogey F1 track Las Vegas
More from
Charles Leclerc
F1 driver contracts: How long is each driver tied down for?
Formula 1
Formula 1 1 d
F1 driver contracts: How long is each driver tied down for?
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
2 d
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
More from
Ferrari
What the Brazilian GP revealed about F1's ability to cope with rain
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
3 d
What the Brazilian GP revealed about F1's ability to cope with rain
Latest news
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 25 min
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
1 h
BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC
The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
3 h
The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down
2027 Formula E drivers and teams: The line-up so far
Formula E
FE Formula E 5 h
2027 Formula E drivers and teams: The line-up so far
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe