Inside the team radio chaos that led to Charles Leclerc’s collapse at the F1 British Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc’s British Grand Prix was ruined by poor tyre choices and chaotic radio communication with the Ferrari pit wall.

The 2025 Formula 1 British Grand Prix came to a chaotic and disappointing end for Charles Leclerc, who finished in a distant and frustrating fourteenth position at the Silverstone Circuit. Once again, Scuderia Ferrari found itself struggling with confusion and poor decision-making during mixed weather conditions — a familiar pattern for the Italian team in recent seasons. In this article, we reconstruct all the key radio exchanges between Charles Leclerc and his Ferrari race engineer that shaped and ultimately ruined his Grand Prix at Silverstone.

The Initial Tyre Choice
Right from the reconnaissance lap, radio chatter intensified throughout the grid as drivers and teams debated whether to make an early switch to slick tyres and start from the pit lane. While the majority of drivers proceeded to the grid on intermediate tyres, it was George Russell who initiated the bold move by pitting for slicks. Charles Leclerc quickly followed the British driver and came into the pits to switch to the medium compound slicks — a highly risky decision that compromised his race from the very beginning.

After completing the opening lap, Charles Leclerc gave his first feedback to his race engineer, responding to a question about the conditions in the third sector of the track. The Monegasque confirmed: “It’s very wet.” Almost simultaneously, Lando Norris received a team radio message saying, “Russell [on slicks] is much slower than us,” further confirming that there was still too much water on the track for slick tyres to be effective.

Switching Back to Intermediates
Under the Safety Car period that followed shortly after, Charles Leclerc returned to the pits to abandon the failed initial strategy and re-fit the Pirelli intermediate tyres. Even during this phase of the race, Leclerc’s dissatisfaction was evident. He reported: “It’s a disaster. The tyres are not switching on. The rears are too cold.” It is worth noting that Lewis Hamilton also experienced similar tyre temperature issues during this stage of the race.

A few laps later, the opposite problem emerged. Leclerc reported via radio: “The rear is hotter than the front.” Around this moment, Charles delivered his first strong outburst of frustration over the radio, saying in a firm tone: “We need to work on this — maybe we can talk at the end of the race. I’m receiving conflicting information, and the brake balance keeps shifting. I have no idea where the brakes are right now.”

Late-Race Tyre Call and Final Frustration
As the race entered its final 10 laps, discussions began regarding the timing for a return to slick tyres. Fernando Alonso was the first to make the move, as reported by Ferrari’s Bryan Bozzi: “Alonso has just pitted now.” Moments before that, the Ferrari pit wall had opened a discussion with Charles Leclerc, asking: “Would you prefer to fit a used medium or a used hard if we box now?” Leclerc confirmed his preference for the medium compound, but in the end, the team opted to fit the red-marked soft tyre compound instead — a decision that did not pay off.

With the race effectively over, the second major outburst from car number 16 came over the radio: “There’s a lot of work to do. I’m not even sure where I placed the car on track. It was really difficult.” And with that final message, a race marked by confusion, frustration, and ineffective communication came to a close for Charles Leclerc and the Ferrari team at Silverstone.