Leclerc delivers difficult verdict on Ferrari’s constructors' ambitions
Photo: RacePictures
Ben is a journalist at GPblog, specializing in Formula 1. With an academic background and experience in UK newsrooms, he delivers reliable coverage and insights into the sport.
Charles Leclerc anticipates a difficult recovery drive in Las Vegas after a poor qualifying puts further pain to Ferrari’s constructors championship ambitions.
“What I want to do is to be fighting for wins so surely it's not a car we'll miss.”
In a wet weather-affected qualifying around the Las Vegas Street Circuit Leclerc could only qualify P9 while Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton finished dead last and was knocked out in Q1 - the first Ferrari driver to do so since 2009.
Despite the Monogasque driver achieving seven podiums in this year’s SF-25, the Scuderia are winless in 2025 and sit in P4 in the constructors' championship.
Read also
ADVERTISEMENT
Having slid from P2 following their double DNF in Brazil, Leclerc delivered a difficult verdict on Ferrari’s constructors championship objective following a tough qualifying in Las Vegas.
“I mean we're fighting for third or maybe second, but honestly second is going to be difficult for the constructors.
“What I want to do is to be fighting for wins so surely it's not a car we'll miss.
Ferrari qualified P9 and P20 under the Las Vegas lights - Photo: Race Pictures
Mercedes, who hold P2 in the constructors championship, qualified in P4 with George Russell and P17 with Kimi Antonelli, who had hoped to bring his strong Brazil form into Sin City.
ADVERTISEMENT
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen meanwhile qualified on the front row alongside Lando Norris, with Yuki Tsunoda eliminated in P19 during Q1.
| STANDINGS | TEAM | POINTS |
| P2 | Mercedes | 398 |
| P3 | Red Bull Racing | 366 |
| P4 | Ferrari | 362 |
Damage limitation
Ferrari will be hoping to keep their constructors championship fight alive going into the final two weekends in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. But in the meantime Leclerc anticipated a tricky fight back at the Las Vegas GP.
The top 3 after Las Vegas qualifying - Photo: Red Bull Content Pool
ADVERTISEMENT
“We'll try to make something special happen anyway.
“The thing is that we have quite a high downforce, which was supposed to help us in those conditions. It's not like we're starting that much, I mean that further up. So yeah, it's going to be tough to overtake.”
Leclerc has Isack Hadjar ahead in P8, followed by Fernando Alonso in P7 and Liam Lawson in P6.
GPblog's latest F1 Paddock Update
Want to stay up-to-date with what happens in the F1 paddock? Then GPblog's F1 Paddock Update video is the perfect way to do it. Subscribe to GPblog's YouTube channel and turn on notifications to never miss the latest episodes.
ADVERTISEMENT
Don’t miss GPblog in Google
Mark us as a preferred source and our articles will appear more often at the top of Top Stories.
Add as a preferred / source on Google
