Is Ferrari up to Charles Leclerc’s level? Why the Prancing Horse is always his main rival...

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari heads to Miami, the sixth round of the 2025 Formula 1 championship, carrying with it the awareness of those who know their own limits. On one hand, this is a good thing, as it allows maximum focus to get the best out of oneself. On the other, having limitations at an intrinsic level risks draining some energy. That said, this doesn’t seem to be the case within the minds of the drivers, technicians, and engineers. Dealing with this feeling is extremely difficult.

Charles Leclerc has been living in this state for several seasons now. And who knows how the Monegasque truly feels, knowing that if he had the steering wheel of a competitive car in his hands, things would be very different. His words in the lead-up to the American weekend reflect exactly this state of mind, because regardless of whether a track is favorable or not, when the performance isn’t there, the result is always the same.

Luckily, his tenacity seems to never run out. He shows it on track, fighting with his car before even thinking about his opponents. And this is the biggest issue of all, because when you push the limits of nature, go all out to drive your car well, and then realize that despite everything, all that work might only earn you a distant third place… well, it’s rather frustrating.

McLaren is far too ahead, and the Max Verstappen–Red Bull duo, when everything aligns and they optimize performance, makes the RB21 unbeatable for the Prancing Horse. The same goes for George Russell’s Mercedes, which is a car that’s far from perfect, but often still faster than the SF-25. Draining: that’s the adjective that perfectly captures the “psychotechnical” state the Monegasque Ferrari driver has been living in since signing with the team.

There’s nothing worse in life than wasted talent. Thinking that Charles Leclerc might get fed up and let others take his place wouldn’t be so far-fetched. Yet Charles has always denied any rumor linking him to other teams, and Ferrari must hope that never changes. We are talking about a love that’s eternal, but so far impossible. Above all, it is quite sad to think that practically half of his career has flown by this way.

Far too few satisfactions and many, many disappointments. The Italian team needs to wake up. And it needs to do so immediately. Enough with the endless, pointless talk, which is about as useful as a three-euro coin. The first part of the 2025 Formula 1 season has gone very poorly, especially considering the expectations the Maranello team had before the start of the championship. That “we must try to improve” that Charles Leclerc repeats endlessly shows his commitment, even though the blame is not his.

And it is a real shame that his extreme dedication and the difference he often manages to make on track unfortunately isn’t enough, because the car is not up to the task and never has been. Ferrari’s approach doesn’t work. Too many smiling faces, starting with team principal Frederic Vasseur, who perhaps still has not realized where he is. The French manager didn’t come to Maranello to sweep the sea. There is no sign of the urgency of someone who wants to get back to the top.

Disconnected and completely absent leadership, this is how we can describe the Ferrari management. What’s more, you never see in the eyes of those in charge the bitterness of always achieving the same result: losing. If your name is Ferrari, having come close to only three titles in 16 years, namely in 2010 and 2012 in the Drivers’ Championship, last year in the Constructors’, is rather deplorable, if not downright shameful. Ownership doesn’t even seem worried, judging by the leadership. We are talking about John Elkann, who seems completely detached from Formula 1.

An absent president. It almost feels like he’s saying: Don’t like me? Feel free to join the line of fools waiting for me to care. In this way, you never win. For Miami, we can maybe expect another piece of qualifying magic from Charles Leclerc and then, after a fuel-heavy war on track, if everything goes perfectly and the others mess up, a third place on the podium that, of course, brings no pride, only anger.