Charles Leclerc is “only experiencing the advantages” of a more extreme setup approach on his Ferrari that has put him ahead of his new Formula 1 teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Although Hamilton’s beginning at Ferrari has grown more challenging and often portrays the seven-time world champion as disheartened, Leclerc’s 2025 F1 season is progressing impressively.
He achieved his initial podium of the year in Saudi Arabia, marking Ferrari’s first in a grand prix after Hamilton’s win in the sprint race in China.
Leclerc’s breakthrough appears to stem from a new setup approach following the Japanese Grand Prix, which he noted then as “rather extreme” and something he had wished to experiment with for several weeks.
Leclerc has not provided specifics about the arrangement, merely mentioning it as more intense and a new experience for him.
When questioned by The Race in Miami on Thursday whether it affected the entire car or a particular section, Leclerc replied: “I’m not going to delve into specifics, but it has made the car somewhat trickier, very, very pointy.”
“That makes it quite difficult to drive, particularly when you are pushing the limits during qualifying.” However, it’s something I enjoy, something I have always enjoyed throughout my career.
It requires several races to readjust everything related to the car to move in that direction, which is the process we are currently undergoing, and it has been yielding results in the recent races.
This doesn’t automatically imply that it will benefit every race, so we must maintain that open-minded perspective and ensure we can revert, just in case it’s necessary.
However, we continue to investigate and advance in that direction since, at present, we are only observing the advantages.
“From my perspective, I genuinely appreciate that direction.”
By noting the heightened rear instability resulting from his adjustments, Leclerc suggests that he has more generally adopted an “extreme” approach regarding car characteristics, instead of concentrating on a single set-up element that is significantly more aggressive than it used to be.
Leclerc has consistently excelled in a vehicle with a robust front end. He has a strong aversion to understeer and possesses great skill in handling significant rear instability – provided it remains predictable.
Considering the edge Leclerc has maintained over Hamilton in high-speed corners since Japan, often achieving a higher minimum cornering speed, it implies that Leclerc is accepting slightly more instability when entering faster turns.
This reduces some of the troublesome understeer that often appears later in the turn with the Ferrari, ultimately making it faster.
The qualifying outcomes versus Hamilton have changed significantly since. After being two tenths quicker than Hamilton in Australia, and then two tenths and one tenth slower in the China sprint and main qualifying respectively, Leclerc has maintained a significant lead since then.
Leclerc was three tenths quicker in Japan, six tenths quicker in Bahrain, and half a second faster in Saudi Arabia. That corresponded to four, seven, and three positions on the grid respectively.
As this has progressed, Hamilton has been skeptical about reversing the situation. Once more, he appeared subdued in Miami on Thursday, particularly when questioned about his adjustment to the Ferrari and the challenging performances.
“The engineers I collaborate with currently are accustomed to configuring a car for various drivers and distinct driving styles, and I’m accustomed to driving a car with a different driving approach,” Hamilton stated.
It’s a mixture of several diverse elements.
When asked if he can drive this car instinctively or if he has to think about it consciously, Hamilton replied: “It’s usually a blend of both, but I’m definitely putting in effort to adapt to this one for sure.”
This has proven challenging, and possibly intensified by Leclerc’s “intense” style that Hamilton has found hard to adapt to.
At first, Hamilton believed that his growing deficit could be attributed to various set-up decisions and that a new floor would specifically benefit him.
However, that has not been true. Leclerc stated that Hamilton’s set-up was more in line with his own, indicating that Hamilton is unable to get it to function properly.
“It’s always quite challenging to compare how drivers feel because if you’re not comfortable, there’s often something that affects you more than the other driver, which is why you can’t go as quickly,” Leclerc stated.
“This year, on my end, we’ve taken some very drastic approaches with the setup to get more performance from the car, so I believe I’m adapting my driving style significantly to meet the new demands of this vehicle.”
“Nevertheless, I’ve been with Ferrari for seven years, so there are probably aspects that have become quite instinctive to me after all this time with the team that I may not recognize – even though I sense that I’ve been driving quite differently this year, simply because this car demands a different setup and a different driving approach.”
