Charles Leclerc has urged Ferrari to find a solution to the team’s perpetual struggles in the wet in Formula 1 amid an “embarrassing” qualifying in Las Vegas.
The Monegasque ended proceedings in Nevada down in ninth, a disappointing performance after what had been a somewhat promising weekend until then.
Ferrari had been expected to be in the fight to take pole position, but with Lewis Hamilton dumped out in Q1, Leclerc was the sole remaining SF-25 come Q3.
But, in the end, Leclerc could only manage ninth with a lap almost two seconds down on pole-sitter Lando Norris.
Leclerc conveyed his frustration over the team radio on the way to parc ferme, venting: “Oh my god, embarrassing. F***ing embarrassing.”
After qualifying, Leclerc admitted the SF-25 is hugely problematic when it rains, and even his prowess is not enough to make up for the car’s shortcomings.
“Unfortunately, since I’m in Ferrari that we are struggling massively in the wet, we don’t quite find the solution,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“It’s not a fault that we are not trying because we’ve been trying like crazy, but it just doesn’t work.
“It’s very, very frustrating because it’s been probably my biggest strength in the junior categories coming up and we are just struggling like crazy whenever it’s wet.
“The tyres don’t switch on and we just have a very, very poor grip.”
Leclerc admits Ferrari wet weather issues have existed ‘since I joined’
When asked whether there was any sort of set-up solution possible, Leclerc said there was not, as rain rendered its free practice promise totally irrelevant.
“Probably not this weekend because actually, FP1 and FP2 were quite competitive,” he explained.
“Then FP3, we had some wet running, but it was not clearly wet and we weren’t too bad actually.
“And then, now that it was fully wet, there was no way to change the car by now. So, no, we haven’t changed anything necessarily this weekend just because we couldn’t.”
Leclerc opened up on how frustrating it is to drive the SF-25 in such conditions, which are exacerbated by the low-grip surface and the unusually cold temperatures.
With 2026 and its brand-new set of technical regulations to come with it, Leclerc was asked if the issue is inherited in the SF-25.
“Well, yeah, that’s what we need to look at, because I feel like with the previous generations of cars, it was very, very similar,” he retorted.
“So, yeah, we’ve just been struggling and being poor on the wet since I joined the team.”
The qualifying result, with George Russell lining up fourth and Max Verstappen second, gives Ferrari further possibilities of falling behind Mercedes and Red Bull in the fight for second in the Constructors’ Championship.
Leclerc conceded that matching its second-place finish in the table, as it did last year, is now going to be tough, and said that he will be glad to see the back of the SF-25.
“I mean, we’re fighting for third or, yeah, maybe second, but honestly, second is going to be difficult for the Constructors,” he said.
“What I want to do is to be fighting for wins, so surely it’s not a car we’ll miss.”
READ MORE – Lewis Hamilton explains his ‘horrible’ Las Vegas F1 qualifying
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