Charles Leclerc is cautiously optimistic ahead of the F1 Australian GP as Ferrari gear up to hit the Albert Park Circuit this weekend with their comprehensively innovated 2025 challenger, the SF-25. The Italian team is intent on building on its momentum from last season after they fell short of the Constructors’ crown by only 14 points.
Amidst the not-so-ideal weather conditions in Bahrain that made it difficult to maximise testing time and Leclerc encountering balance issues during the final two days of pre-season testing, the Maranello-based outfit heads into the F1 Australian GP unsure of where they stand in the initial pecking order.
During his print media session in Melbourne on Thursday, Leclerc spoke at length about the balance issues he had experienced during pre-season testing and the untapped potential of the SF-25.
The Monégasque driver also addressed the media attention his new teammate Lewis Hamilton has been receiving and why he is confident about his standing within the team. Moreover, he also revealed what his only objective is going into the new F1 season.
The SF-25 has more potential to unlock
With regard to the balance issues he had come across during F1 testing and whether there’s a huge potential to unlock in their new single-seater, Leclerc admitted that Ferrari have yet to extract the full potential of the SF-25.
At the same time, the Monégasque clarified that they were focused on exploring a plethora of set-up options during testing instead of resolving the balance issues they had faced. Acknowledging the progress they made in terms of understanding the car and determining the set-up direction they need to pursue for the season opener in Melbourne, Leclerc revealed that Ferrari hadn’t optimised the handling of the SF-25 at all over the course of pre-season testing.
Furthermore, claiming that other teams on the F1 grid hadn’t optimised their cars as well, Leclerc remarked that they will be able to gauge where they stand in comparison to their rivals after qualifying for the F1 Australian GP takes place on Saturday.
“Huge? I don’t know. There’s definitely some more potential to unlock.
“But to be honest, it’s not like we’ve had an issue during testing with the balance. It’s that we haven’t done anything to try and cure the balance issues we’ve had.
“Because we were just trying different options of set-up. So, we’ve tested and went through a lot of different directions in terms of set-up to try and understand which are the directions we need to push for for this first race and to understand the car. Which I think we did a good job, but we never really optimised the car.
“But I don’t think any other teams did as well. So, we’ll only see on Saturday where we are standing compared to the others.”
Ferrari used F1 testing solely for evaluating set-up directions and are confident about fixing the balance issues
When asked whether Ferrari was unable to remedy the balance issues during testing due to the lack of time, the Monégasque driver underscored the sensitive nature of the current generation of F1 cars and the complications they encounter when they tinker with the set-up during free practice sessions.
Additionally, Leclerc explained that they were more interested in testing as many set-up directions as possible in Bahrain to better understand the inherent characteristics of the SF-25 before they hit the track at the Albert Park Circuit.
“Honestly, in Formula 1 nowadays, working on the balance in itself is probably the easiest part.
“It’s just that now in Formula 1, there are so many different directions that you can take in terms of actual philosophy with these new cars especially that we thought we could learn the most and improve the car the most.
“And these are also things that you cannot really do during a race weekend. Because it changes so much the feeling with the car that you cannot afford to do that in FP1 or FP2. So we had to get that out of the way and we did during testing.”
In terms of how confident they are about finding a solution, Leclerc highlighted the hours they have spent on the simulator at Maranello since pre-season testing and added that they will build on the data they have collected and fine-tune the set-up during the three practice sessions at the F1 Australian GP.
“And now for the fine-tuning of the balance, we’ll go on that.
“I mean, we already did a lot of work on that on the simulator. And we’ll try and build on what we’ve learned in the simulator here during the free practices.”
Leclerc unbothered by media’s attention on Hamilton and only focused on the championship
Leclerc has been at ease with the fervent media attention that his new teammate Hamilton has been receiving since joining the team. In terms of whether the source of his confidence can be traced back to Ferrari’s faith in him and his belief in his own abilities as a driver, the eight-time race winner responded that he is not preoccupied with the amount of attention that is being showered on them.
Emphasising the importance of a well-oiled team and a competitive car behind a successful title campaign, Leclerc elaborated that his only priority is to deliver results on track and secure his first world championship as he prepares for the F1 Australian GP this weekend.
“Again, I really don’t have the… How do you say that? The want or… I’m not really looking about that.
“For me, the only thing that matters is that we are working well as a team, that we end up with a car that is good enough to be world champion and then I’ve got to do the job on track in order to be a world champion.”
Leclerc absolutely confident about his standing within Ferrari
Referring to his journey with the team since his FDA days and the personal relationship he has developed with the personnel over the years, Leclerc asserted that he is not concerned at all about Ferrari sidelining him in favour of his world champion teammate.
“But then within the team, I’m not scared of that. I don’t think about that.
“These are people that I have known since 2015. So I was a kid back then. They’ve seen me grow up. So it’s not like it’s going to change from one day to the other. It’s not a question that I’ve asked myself.
“Of course, there’s a lot of attention for Lewis [Hamilton] at the moment. Not within the team, but outside the team, which is normal. But that doesn’t affect me.
“The only thing that matters to me is that we are working properly, that we don’t get affected by the attention that is there around the team at the moment.
“But I’m not worried about how people perceive me within the team. This is a team that I know very, very well. All these people are more than just work colleagues. That’s probably why I don’t worry.”
