Charles Leclerc is clear about Ferrari’s priority for the 2025 Formula 1 season: finishing as high as possible, even if it means sacrificing valuable wind tunnel testing hours.
The Monegasque driver insists the team must aim for the best immediate results on track, rather than worry about potential development restrictions.
Under the 2025 F1 regulations, aerodynamic testing allowances were recalculated based on the previous season’s Constructors’ Championship.
The teams that are higher up the table have to deal with reduced wind tunnel and CFD testing hours, designed to level development opportunities across the grid.
For Ferrari, currently fighting tightly with Mercedes for second place, pushing for that higher spot comes with the knowledge it could mean fewer testing hours next year – a potential handicap for future car development.
A mid-season reset last month worked in the Scuderia’s favour, granting the team 16 extra wind tunnel runs and 100 additional CFD tests.
When asked whether securing second place in the Constructors’ Championship is worth sacrificing valuable wind tunnel time next season, Leclerc was clear on where his focus lies.
“I’m pretty sure it’s better to finish second than third,” he told the media including Motorsport Week. “However, as you said, there’s also the wind tunnel time.
“This is not something we think of too much. When we are on track, we just want to finish as high up as possible and then we’ll deal with whatever amount of hours in the wind tunnel we have. We want to target the highest possible.”
Ferrari’s 2025 struggles and Leclerc’s focus on race wins
The 2025 season so far has been a turbulent one for Ferrari and Leclerc, as the team has slipped back from its strong position at the end of the 2024 campaign.
While Leclerc has fared better than team-mate Lewis Hamilton, securing multiple podium finishes, it has still been a challenging and frustrating period by Ferrari’s high standards.
No team has managed to dethrone McLaren’s dominance, and the Italian squad has yet to claim a victory this season.
However, Leclerc showed flashes of promise in Hungary, snatching an impressive pole position seemingly out of nowhere.
Though the race ultimately unravelled due to what he described as a chassis issue that hampered his pace and dropped him off the podium, the performance offered hope for better days.
Still, Leclerc remained realistic, admitting that Ferrari may have already missed its prime chance for glory this season.
The focus lies squarely on winning races again, more than on securing wind tunnel time or finishing ahead of Mercedes in the Constructors’ Championship, the 27-year-old admitted.
“Second place in the Constructors’ is one of our targets, but the biggest target is to come back to winning races as soon as possible,” he added.
“Wherever we finish, we’ll work from there and see how many hours we have next year.”
READ MORE – Charles Leclerc fearing winless Ferrari 2025 F1 season after Hungarian GP collapse
Discussion about this post