Charles Leclerc struck a rare somber note following the Qatar Grand Prix. The weekend – by far Ferrari’s weakest of the season – left deep marks on the Monegasque. After a point-less sprint race and a meager eighth place in the main event, Leclerc fears that Ferrari is heading for an extra chilly winter. The Scuderia has now stalled in fourth place in the constructors’ championship, the worst result since 2020.
Things went wrong right from the start in the sprint race: Leclerc fell out of the points after a mediocre first lap. Ferrari continued to struggle with pace on Sunday, although Leclerc did benefit from several incidents in front of him, such as the crash of Nico Hülkenberg and Pierre Gasly and the retirement of Isack Hadjar. In the end, he managed to scrape an eighth place. Nevertheless, Leclerc was blunt about the state of Ferrari and the work that awaits the Scuderia this winter.
‘Depressing Winter’
“I had no confidence in the car,” Leclerc sighed. “I had no pace, I had nothing at all. Let me put it this way: I’m glad the weekend is over.” He admitted to being extremely disappointed in his own race. “It was a frustrating race, from the very first to the very last lap. Again: after the first lap of the sprint race, I had lost all confidence. We were not competitive in any lap.”
Ferrari’s misery in Qatar means that the Scuderia will definitely finish fourth in the 2025 constructors’ championship, the worst result since 2020. A bitter pill for a team that narrowly missed the title last year. Still, Leclerc tries to look ahead, towards the season finale in Abu Dhabi. Ferrari has never won the final race, but did have two drivers on the podium last year. “I’m really looking forward to Abu Dhabi and want to end the season on a positive note,” concluded the Monegasque. “Hopefully we can then go on holiday with a bit more pleasure. Because with two weekends like these, it promises to be a depressing winter.”
