Charles Leclerc says only a “freaking good” upgrade can turn Ferrari’s fortunes around after a double Q2 exit in qualifying for the 2025 Formula 1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Both of the Scuderia drivers were knocked out of qualifying in the second session to the groaning disappointment of the deflated Tifosi fans.
Leclerc will now start the Grand Prix from 11th on the grid, with his team-mate Lewis Hamilton right behind.
After FP1 and FP2 on Friday, the Italian squad already had cause for concern as both drivers struggled for pace.
Its worries were confirmed after the Aston Martin duo of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll opted for the Medium tyres in Q2, dropping both Hamilton and Leclerc out of qualifying.
After the session, Leclerc was depleted as he bluntly admitted that he holds no hope for Sunday’s race.
“The best performance that we could give was in 11th and 12th place,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“This hurts, but I hope I can do some miracles tomorrow, to be completely honest, for now.
“There’s nothing that gives me hope for tomorrow’s pace, just because I think the potential of the car is not good enough at the moment.”
Even with an upgrade on the horizon, the 27-year-old fails to see how Ferrari can challenge at the front.
“It has to be a freaking good upgrade if we want for it to be a turning point.
“I honestly don’t think that, I hope that we will do a step in the right direction, but the road is a very long one ahead.”
Leclerc says Ferrari ‘didn’t deliver’ at Imola
Neither Ferrari driver expected much improvement from Miami, where Leclerc and Hamilton finished seventh and eighth, respectively – but a double elimination in qualifying is sinking reality for the Prancing Horse.
In front of a packed-out home crowd too, the season is starting to look bleak for Ferrari.
Asked if the main problem with the car was a performance related issue or a balance issue, Leclerc provided some insight.
“Performance, just performance,” the eight-time Grand Prix winner explained.
“We can do whatever with the balance, but at the end of the day, just the performance is not good enough.
“The race pace is strong; on a track like this, we knew how crucial qualifying was going to be, and we didn’t deliver.”
When posed to him that the SF-25 appears to struggle more with a new set of tyres than a scrubbed set during qualifying this season, Leclerc agreed.
“We could say that, which has been a bit of a trend since the beginning of the season, so this is something we need to look at,” he said.
“With Q2, for example, I think I did my fastest lap on the scrubbed tyres.
“It’s also true that it wasn’t a proper scrub because I only had done one out-lap – we’ll have to look at it.”
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