Leclerc's rocky start sees light: Satisfaction despite 'extremely difficult' season

Updated: 21:50, 20 Aug 2025

byOlly Darcy

Charles Leclerc has said his start to 2025 has been "very satisfying" after an "extremely difficult" beginning to the season.

The 27-year-old has had his struggles behind the wheel in 2025 due to the troublesome nature of his SF-25 that he has at his disposal, resulting in there being no race wins before the summer break for Leclerc.

Despite these challenges to extract the most out of the 2025 car, the Ferrari man has still been able to find his way onto the podium five times, tallying 151 points to sit P5 in the drivers' standings.

Charles Leclerc's 121 points sees him currently sit 21 points behind George Russell in the drivers' standings, while Oscar Piastri leads the way with 284

Leclerc still looking for more after the summer break

"In terms of my own performance, as I was saying, I'm very happy with the way I perform this season," Leclerc stated in Thursday's press conference at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

"The best moment as a driver, no, because I want to win. So, as my own performance, I'm really happy. You always want to improve, and obviously, like Silverstone for example, was a very poor weekend from my side.

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	72
2	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	63
3	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	49
4	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	41
5	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	25
6	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	21
7	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	17
8	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	15
9	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	12
10	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	10
11	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	4
12	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	4
13	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	2
14	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	2
15	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	1
16	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	1
17	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	0
18	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	0
19	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
20	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0
21	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	0
22	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0

Leclerc's rocky start sees light: Satisfaction despite 'extremely difficult' season

byOlly Darcy

Leclerc still looking for more after the summer break

Read also

Vettel engages in a different kind of battle: 'We must be aware of that'

Tears in the garage - Verstappen’s former trainer describes emotional and tearful goodbye

From dominance to disarray: Why Red Bull Racing’s empire began to crack

Official: McLaren to sign Lambiase for the 2028 season from Red Bull

Official: Red Bull announce Lambiase will leave in 2028

Two extra races officially added to F2 schedule following cancelled events

Steiner compares MotoGP and F1: 'You need to be a special breed to do this'

'Verstappen must leave Red Bull’s sinking ship as soon as possible'

Exclusive: All the ins and outs of Lambiase's move to McLaren

Aleix Espargaro hospitalized with spinal injury in Sepang

From dominance to disarray: Why Red Bull Racing’s empire began to crack

Official: McLaren to sign Lambiase for the 2028 season from Red Bull

Official: Red Bull announce Lambiase will leave in 2028

Two extra races officially added to F2 schedule following cancelled events

Popular on GPBlog

Lambiase linked to senior role at McLaren after Red Bull exit

Two former Red Bull drivers tipped to replace Verstappen amid F1 exit threat

Verstappen loses race engineer Lambiase to competing F1 team

F1 Today | Lando Norris squashes breakup rumours, no major racing changes expected at Miami GP

Season

Vettel engages in a different kind of battle: 'We must be aware of that'

Tears in the garage - Verstappen’s former trainer describes emotional and tearful goodbye