Charles Leclerc sends a brutally honest message to Ferrari as McLaren’s ‘annoying’ dominance takes over

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc addressed his team's lack of pace after Friday's practice session at the Bahrain Grand Prix. With McLaren surging ahead in the time sheets, the Monagesque admitted that the gap was frustrating and motivating.

On Friday, April 11, Leclerc sat out of FP1 to give way for Ferrari test driver Dino Beganovic. When he returned to the cockpit in FP2, he secured the fourth-fastest time of the session, approximately half a second behind pace setter Oscar Piastri.

Moreover, Bahrain marked Ferrari's first upgrade package for the SF-25 with a redesigned floor. Despite the upgrades, the Scarlet duo has struggled to challenge the McLaren's pace.

Speaking to the media post-practice, Charles Leclerc opened up about Ferrari's ongoing struggles, stating:

"We’re just not fast enough. When we look at the McLaren, they are just on another planet for now. It’s annoying, but it’s the way it is. It actually motivates me to try and close that gap as soon as possible, but they are incredibly fast."

Leclerc also mentioned the challenge of adjusting to the desert track's grip levels compared to the pre-season test.

“It’s been a tricky session, because it’s so much warmer than the [pre-season] test, and obviously you go into a session expecting the grip that you had at the test and it’s completely different. We’ve got to readjust the car and there will be a lot of work during the night to try and turn the situation around tomorrow,” he added.

Charles Leclerc experienced a demoralizing start to the 2025 F1 season, finishing 19 seconds behind race winner Lando Norris at the Australian Grand Prix. Followed by the debacle in China that saw both the Scuderia drivers get disqualified, his fourth-place finish at the Japanese GP gave some respite to the Monagesque.

These results led him to sixth spot in the driver's standings with 20 points, trailing well behind the front runners.

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Charles Leclerc's teammate Lewis Hamilton shares his thoughts on Friday's practice at Bahrain GP

Charles Leclerc's teammate, Lewis Hamilton, discussed the challenges he faced during Friday's practice session at the Bahrain Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion echoed his teammate's comments on varying grip levels due to high track temperatures.

Reflecting upon the same, Hamilton spoke about the car's drivability and said:

"Quite difficult in the morning as always with the temperature being so high. The grip was terrible on the hard tire for the first run. It's quite a big shock from hard to soft, which is much better. But we made some changes and the car felt pretty decent."

Lewis Hamilton secured the third fastest time in FP1 but was still around half a second behind session leader Lando Norris. His second session was a further step back for the Brit, as he landed a second behind Piastri, further underscoring the Papaya duo's dominance.