Charles Leclerc denies that Ferrari was ‘overconfident’ at the start of the 2025 season. The Scuderia’s results were disappointing in the first few races of the year, especially since fans, particularly the tifosi, had expected more from the arrival of Lewis Hamilton and after Ferrari was still in contention for the constructors’ title at the end of 2024. According to Leclerc, the hype surrounding his new teammate brought with it too many high expectations.
With a deficit of 177 points to championship leader McLaren, the 2025 season has so far not been what Ferrari had hoped for. The Scuderia had a disappointing start to the season, achieving only two podium finishes in a main race. This is despite Ferrari ending 2024 as a contender for the constructors’ title and with two victories in the last six races of the season. Was the Scuderia overconfident after these good results? Absolutely not, says Charles Leclerc.
“I don’t think we were overconfident,” the Monegasque tells the media in Spain. “I think there was mainly a lot of hype around the team at the start of the season. We didn’t really have control over that. It was mainly because Lewis joined the team. That’s obviously a big thing in the Formula 1 paddock, so there was a lot of talk about Ferrari and expectations were high.”
2026
The Italians subsequently failed to meet these high expectations, because Ferrari, in Leclerc’s words, ‘simply wasn’t good enough’. However, Leclerc remains hopeful, as a completely new regulation will come into force in the premier class in 2026. “Next year everything is so different that I don’t think we will face the same problems,” the driver continues. “I would be very surprised if that were the case, because the car will be completely different. So even if we don’t solve the problems this year, that doesn’t mean we will be off the mark next year. However, we remain focused on this year, so it is extremely important to solve the problems as quickly as possible.”
