Charles Leclerc admits the most "exciting" part of his boring Qatar GP was doing title maths in his head

Charles Leclerc admits the most “exciting” part of his boring Qatar GP was doing title maths in his head. Ferrari struggled again in Qatar.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-25, garage, 2025 F1

Ferrari hit a new low in Qatar, with Charles Leclerc openly admitting the unusual thought that kept his spirits up during the race. The Qatar Grand Prix marked another critical moment in Ferrari’s incredibly difficult 2025 season. Throughout the weekend, lack of performance and mounting frustration dominated the Maranello garage, and not even Leclerc’s determination could make a difference. At one point, the race became so uneventful that the Monegasque driver admitted he had to entertain himself in other ways.With one of the weakest versions of the SF-25 seen all year, both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were forced to watch as other drivers achieved success. From George Russell’s podium in the Sprint race and Carlos Sainz’s strong finish in the main race, to impressive performances by drivers like Fernando Alonso and Matteo Antonelli, many outperformed Ferrari.

However, all eyes were on the front of the race after a McLaren strategic error pushed the championship battle to Abu Dhabi, where it will become a three-way fight. Following the Papaya team’s mistake, Max Verstappen won the race ahead of Oscar Piastri, closing the gap to Lando Norris to just 12 points.

It seems that the championship calculations kept Charles Leclerc engaged during an otherwise exhausting and largely uneventful race for Ferrari. “It’s tough. It’s tough,” the Monegasque explained in post-race interviews when discussing his title predictions.

How Charles Leclerc stayed active during the race

“I think anything can happen when there are so few points between the top drivers. I don’t know. It will probably be between Lando and Max, but anything can happen, especially with all the tension. Incidents can play a key role and everyone is fighting for positions,” he continued.

Then came the unusual admission: “It was a very boring weekend for me, but I could follow the race a bit on the screen and tried to do mental calculations about the championship. At least that was the most exciting part of my race. Other than that, it was very boring.”

The season is now nearing its end, but Charles Leclerc still hopes to finish strongly, looking ahead to 2026—a season that could completely change everything and, he hopes, allow him to fight at the very top once again.

“I hope we will have one last exciting race in Abu Dhabi. It would be fantastic. I would love for it to be a four-way battle and for me to be involved. I want to race. I want to fight at the front, and it’s great to see these battles, but it would be wonderful if I could be part of them,” he concluded.