Charles Leclerc and Ferrari wrapped up a solid Friday in Mexico, with the Monegasque driver evaluating both the team’s performance and the balance of power among the top contenders. Unlike his teammate Lewis Hamilton, Leclerc took part in both free practice sessions, collecting valuable data and expressing generally positive feelings with the SF-25. However, he stressed that it is still too early to set high expectations for the race.
The Scuderia will need to focus particularly on managing engine and brake temperatures, which represent a major challenge at the high-altitude Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. The weather conditions and thin air in Mexico City make it difficult to cool the components efficiently, meaning reliability could play a crucial role on Sunday. At the moment, Ferrari’s closest battle appears to be with Mercedes, while Red Bull and McLaren seem to hold a slight advantage over the rest of the field.
Charles Leclerc’s analysis after Friday practice
After FP2, Charles Leclerc compared Ferrari’s results to those of their main rivals and drew a clear conclusion. “It’s been a positive day,” the driver said when speaking to Formula 1 after the session. “We’re still a step behind Red Bull, especially on low-fuel runs, and also behind McLaren, particularly with higher fuel loads.”
Charles Leclerc’s observations matched Ferrari’s expectations heading into the Mexican Grand Prix weekend. “No surprises – we knew those two teams would be the strongest coming here. But we put in some good laps, I felt comfortable with the car, and now we need to build from here going into Saturday. Hopefully, we can deliver an even stronger performance,” he added.
Comparing Ferrari with the top teams
While Red Bull struggled with race pace during the long runs – something even Max Verstappen acknowledged – Charles Leclerc remained cautious, noting that the Austrian team usually manages to find quick solutions overnight. “On higher fuel loads, we might have been slightly better than Red Bull,” Charles Leclerc observed. “But McLaren were in a league of their own, really far ahead. I hope they were running light on fuel, but I’m not sure. They looked very strong.”
Lewis Hamilton, for his part, said he was pleasantly surprised to be that close to the leading cars despite not having an ideal setup yet. As the weekend progresses toward qualifying, the next few hours of fine-tuning in the Ferrari garage will be crucial. Once parc fermé rules come into play after qualifying, the cars can no longer be modified for the race, making Friday night’s setup work especially important for Ferrari’s ambitions in Mexico.
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