Charles Leclerc has conceded Ferrari still doesn’t have the package to be in regular podium contention, despite bagging third place in Formula 1‘s Spanish Grand Prix.
Leclerc capitalised on a late Safety Car that worked against Red Bull’s strategy to overtake Max Verstappen to seize his and Ferrari’s third podium of the 2025 season.
Having compromised his own starting position to boost his prospects in the race, Leclerc made up two spots on the opening lap as he passed both Mercedes drivers.
Leclerc soon dispatched Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton, but his advances stalled as it emerged that he had no answer to the pace of the McLarens or Verstappen.
However, his gap to that trio was eroded when Andrea Kimi Antonelli got beached in the gravel and Leclerc pounced on a Verstappen error on the restart to steal third.
But the Monegasque has insisted that Ferrari is reliant on developments to the team’s capricious SF-25 car to be able to maintain a presence in the top three on merit.
“Today, we finished on the podium because we were lucky with the Safety Car. Otherwise, I think fourth was our position,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“So, I don’t think I have much more confidence in order to finish on the podium consistently.
“But, yeah, we are getting there. I guess we start to understand the car, how we can set it up in order to extract the maximum out of it.
“But still, we need to go in quite extreme directions, which is not so nice to drive.
“So, unless we have upgrades very soon, I think it’s going to be difficult to be fighting regularly for podiums.”
Leclerc remains unsatisfied by Ferrari competitiveness
Leclerc admitted he was more pleased with his latest visit to the rostrum than his runner-up spot in Monaco amid the anticipation Ferrari would struggle in Barcelona.
But while he accepted the maximum result was achieved, the eight-time race winner underlined that he remains unsatisfied with the Italian marque’s competitiveness.
“It’s not like I’m over the moon for a second or third place,” he expressed.
“But it still feels good because coming to the weekend, I did not expect that, but so didn’t I last week as well in Monaco.
“I think though in Monaco, the disappointment was big because in FP1, FP2, FP3 we were very strong.
“It was not the case here. So, we weren’t strong in FP1, FP2, FP3 or qualifying.
“But I knew I had sacrificed quali yesterday in order to be strong in the race today, and it seems to have paid off – with a little bit of luck as well – that gave us the podium.
“So on that, it’s a good surprise. And I’m very happy about our weekend, but I’m not happy about our overall performance. And on that, we need to do a step soon.”
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