Leclerc: "We Maximized Absolutely Everything" Despite Ferrari Qualifying Weakness

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc delivered an outstanding performance to secure the Italian team's first podium.

Throughout the race, he consistently achieved solid lap times even as the tires continued to wear and completed an impressive 30-lap stint on the Medium tires.

Even with a significant tire offset from using much older race rubber, Leclerc managed to stay within range of the pace setters, which allowed for an extended medium tire stint.

The car could only qualify P4, even with one of the fastest one-lap drivers on the grid. Leclerc was unable to take the car higher and has not managed to set top qualifying laps this season.

“I was very pleased with the pace that we showed once we had free air in the first stint. I think this was very promising. Now we just need to put everything together in qualifying," the Monegasque driver said to Sky Sports.

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“It’s always been one of my strengths but for now I cannot do more than P4. There’s just not enough grip and we’re paying the price in the race. If we’re starting first then today it’s a very different story.

Podium moments in Jeddah 🏆 pic.twitter.com/RwNlxKjcoi
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 21, 2025

“I think we actually have a very good race car in order to be fighting for wins but at the moment we’re just losing our weekends on the Saturday.”

What the SF-25 lacks in outright pace, it seemingly makes up for it with impressive tire wear and race pace, which is just the state of the car for now.

“It’s the way it is for now unfortunately. In Qualifying we don’t manage to extract more out of the car," Leclerc said.

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“I was extremely happy with the lap yesterday, I was very happy with the race today."

"I think we maximized absolutely everything so I’m very proud of what we’ve done, now we just need to improve the car in order to be fighting a bit further up.”

So far this season, Leclerc has expressed his dissatisfaction with the car and the team's performance.

Taking positives and points from Jeddah 🇸🇦 pic.twitter.com/XAcbVA6qjC
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 20, 2025

He emphasizes his commitment to achieving the best results, but for him, the ultimate goal extends beyond merely securing top performance.

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“Yeah by far, I never expected to finish there. Honestly, I thought that this race was about defending the cars behind, especially Kimi [Antonelli], so it was really good," he said.

“We need to keep pushing the maximum. Hopefully upgrades are coming soon in order to improve the car.”

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