Dejected Charles Leclerc reflects on frustrating Bahrain Grand Prix after missing out on podium

Charles Leclerc has shared his thoughts in the aftermath of the Bahrain Grand Prix. The Monégasque driver could only muster a fourth-place finish at the Sakhir event in what was a torrid race for the Ferrari team.

The 27-year-old, who qualified in second place for the event, endured a difficult opening stint after opting to start on the medium tire. The decision backfired almost immediately as he slipped to fourth place within the first four turns of the race.

Charles Leclerc and the Scuderia Ferrari team in an attempt to salvage their poor start opted for the longer runs compared to other teams. However, their strategy again proved counterproductive in the final stages of the race, as his tire strategy saw him come under pressure from the McLaren of Lando Norris and subsequently lose what was shaping up to be a potential podium finish for the Ferrari driver.

Reflecting on the Grand Prix overall, Leclerc detailed that he tried his best but couldn’t have achieved anything better with the car. Sharing his thoughts with the media, as posted on X by user @Cl16__FanpageFr, the far-from-pleased driver stated:

"I tried everything until the end. P4 is where we are now. It's disappointing because we didn't have the performance we were hoping for. I'm happy that we maximized the points but disappointed with the race because we lost the podium a few laps from the end."

The outing at the Bahrain race for Charles Leclerc and the Ferrari team marks the best result they have achieved during a Grand Prix in the 2025 season so far. Despite entering the race in the Middle East with several upgrades to the SF-25 challenger, the Maranello team failed to pose any serious threats to the pace-setting McLaren team.

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Charles Leclerc praised Ferrari's upgrade at Bahrain Grand Prix

Charles Leclerc had previously praised the upgrades Ferrari brought to the Bahrain Grand Prix following the qualifying session. The Maranello team had endured a difficult overall start to the season despite claiming victory in the Chinese GP sprint.

Leclerc detailed how the upgrades to the car had largely brought them more performance and closer to the McLaren team. Speaking to the media, as quoted by MotorsportWeek in the aftermath of qualifying for the Sakhir race, he stated:

“Yeah, the team has done a really, really good job. We’ve all pushed quite a lot in the last few weeks because we’ve been struggling with performance.

“I know that at the factory they’ve been pushing like crazy to try and bring this floor a bit earlier on, and that definitely made the difference... However, it’s probably not the best track to extract the maximum out of this new upgrade, but in the next few weekends, we shall see more of it.”

Charles Leclerc and the Ferrari team appeared to struggle to pose any threat to the front-running teams this weekend. However, if there are any positives to be highlighted, both Ferrari drivers—Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton—finished fourth and fifth, recording their best results of the 2025 season so far. The Italian outfit will now shift focus to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix with the aim of recording a better result.