“One of the most difficult races”: Charles Leclerc spills beans on his disappointing British GP

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc started the 2025 British GP just outside the Top 5, in P6, and fell through the grid over the race distance. The poor strategic calls, along with the struggles of the SF25 in the wet conditions, were the main contributors to Leclerc's worries. The Monegasque driver came out after the race at Silverstone and detailed it as ‘one of the most difficult races of his career.’

The drizzle before the race start pushed all the drivers to start the race on the intermediate tires. However, on the formation lap, the track seemed dry in the first two sectors, with only the final sector being damp. Charles Leclerc, along with George Russell, took the risk to switch to slick tires, and it didn't pay, as they kept bleeding lap time to the leaders.

By the time it started transitioning to a track that favoured the slick tires, multiple yellow flags and virtual safety cars came out, which allowed some drivers to switch from intermediates to dry tires and still come out ahead of Charles Leclerc. The rain hit the circuit once again soon after as everyone came in for new intermediate tires.

By this time, Leclerc had already lost out to the leader by tens of seconds and was running near the back end of the grid. This was soon followed by his Ferrari SF25 going over track limits, sliding all around the circuit, and cutting corners.

F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain - Source: Getty

The bad strategic calls and the car being all over the place meant that Charles Leclerc only managed to finish P14 out of the 15 drivers who completed the race. Speaking with F1 after the British GP, the Monegasque driver reflected on the “difficult” race at Silverstone, as he said,

“One of the most difficult races for me, if not the most difficult race of my career. I just struggled to keep the car on track from the first lap to the last lap. I don’t know from where it’s coming from. I’ll obviously look at the data. I kind of have an idea; it might be because of the set-up that I’m choosing at the moment, which is quite extreme.”

“I really struggle to believe that set-up makes such a difference. I think there’s something that we’ve got to look at,” added Charles Leclerc.

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Charles Leclerc details Lewis Hamilton's British GP as the “only positive” from the race at Silverstone

Charles Leclerc’s teammate Lewis Hamilton had a better race at the British GP, compared to the Monegasque driver. Hamilton started the race in P5 and fell back a few positions after the first pit stop when the rain arrived around Lap 18. However, he made multiple overtakes in wet conditions on Pierre Gasly and George Russell.

F1 Grand Prix of Austria - Practice - Source: Getty

Leclerc came out after the race and suggested that Hamilton's race pace was the only positive thing from the weekend, as he said,

“The only positive point is Lewis's performance. At least I'll be able to observe him to try to understand where I went in the wrong direction. I think I have an idea. My setup works pretty well in the dry, but this was complicated.” (via Canal +)

Lewis Hamilton finished the race in P4 after fighting Nico Hulkenberg for the final podium spot.