A renewed Leclerc rekindles hope at Ferrari with ambitious 2025 goal
Charles Leclerc in Monza @RacePictures
A filmmaker with a soft spot for Ronnie Peterson, Gilles Villeneuve, Mika Hakkinen and above all, Tazio Nuvolari and Ayrton Senna, is also a diehard Formula One fan since the age of 4 (mid-90's). An avid researcher of the past of Grand Prix Racing since before it was even named F1, and with a thirst for knowledge of the ins and outs of the actuality of the sport, as well as for the technical aspects that define it, is a member of GPblog since 2023, where he has put his love of racing to good use.
Charles Leclerc, despite the dissapointing F1 2025 season Ferrari is undergoing, believes the Scuderia can still win a race before the last checkered flag drops in Abu Dhabi.
I’ll do absolutely everything until I stop believing in the project.- Charles Leclerc
With seventeen Grands Prix in the books Ferrari remains the sole top team to still win a race this season, with McLaren, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes all managing to reach the top spot in 2025.
In Azerbaijan the team experienced a new low when the promise shown in practice was derailed by Lewis Hamilton's early elimination in qualifying and Charles Leclerc parking his Ferrari in the wall at Turn 15 in Q3.
The very next day during the race, after Hamilton was let through by Leclerc in a bid to increase Ferrari's points haul and thus cover off Mercedes in their fight for P2 in the Constructors', the British driver failed to comply with the Scuderia's instructions to give the position back to Leclerc, which prompted a fierce response from the Monegasque driver.
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Lewis Hamilton finished P8 in Azerbaijan. Photo: RacePictures.
In the end the red cars finished in a lowly Hamilton-led P8 and P9, and with Mercedes' P2-P4 finish, the Silver Arrows managed to leap frog the Italians in the teams' standings.
What continues to motivate Leclerc so, even when faced with such hardship? "Because I love this team very much, I think that's the answer,” said the Monegasque.
"I've always loved Ferrari and that's where I draw my motivation from, because I want to bring back Ferrari to the top, no matter how long it takes.
Charles Leclerc in Baku - Photo: Race Pictures
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“I’ll do absolutely everything until I stop believing in the project. But at the moment I'm fully into it, I'm fully working on it.
With both championships decisively out of the question Leclerc has shifted his focus toward another goal.
“Of course that doesn't erase the disappointment that I've had at the beginning of the season when I saw that we were quite a few steps behind McLaren,” he said.
“But then you reset and you find your motivation in other goals, in other targets, which is now to hopefully get a win this year.
"It's underwhelming compared to where we wanted to be, but it's the situation we're in, and as a driver I've got to make the best out of this situation, not only for the team but also for myself," Leclerc concluded.
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Ferrari's dangerous slippery slope
The team that finished 14 points shy of a Constructors' title last season now finds itself in the most precarious situation: jumped by Mercedes, now Red Bull sits only 14 points adrift from the Scuderia and in much better form, too.
It will take perfect weekends from here on out for Ferrari to successfully defend their 2024 runner-up position against the Silver Arrows and the late charging Austrian outfit.
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