Charles Leclerc delivers a sharp assessment of Ferrari ahead of the 2025 F1 Abu Dhabi GP. Charles Leclerc didn’t hold back ahead of the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc did not mince his words in Abu Dhabi when describing Ferrari’s disastrous weekend in Qatar. The Monegasque driver openly admitted that the team “got the approach wrong from FP1 to the race,” adding that “we have ideas, but no solution at 100%.” Charles Leclerc recognizes that the team has not yet fully understood the origin of the sudden drop in performance, and that the issue may not be isolated.

Ferrari the third force in Abu Dhabi

During the usual Thursday FIA press conference, Charles Leclerc explained:

“Surely it was accentuated by the fact that Qatar was never going to be a track where we were going to be strong. But still, we didn’t play at the level where we should be. So yes, we should have done better even if the characteristics of the track were not good for us. But for this weekend, I expect that we will be back where we should be, which is probably the third force or something like that.”

Leclerc: “The expectation was different”

Charles Leclerc reviewed his 2025 season, saying he is satisfied overall but had hoped for more:

“Personally I’m quite satisfied. I think it has been a strong season on my side. You always try to improve from one season to the next, and that is what I tried to do this year. And I’m satisfied with the work. Then unfortunately the performance is not where it should be, and I’m not as satisfied with the result and the performance that we have shown. Especially after last year, when we were strong, the expectation was different. But yes, we pushed. I think we reacted well as a team from the first to the last race, trying to turn the situation around. It wasn’t easy because we didn’t have many upgrades, as we are mainly focusing on 2026. But yes, I think we behaved well as a team on track. So what we are missing in the end is the performance of the car. And for this I hope that next year will be better.”

With the chequered flag just days away, Charles Leclerc’s words paint a picture of a driver who has extracted close to the maximum from a troubled SF-25, but a team still searching for the key to unlock consistent front-running pace.