Ferrari: Leclerc Explains Why He’s Slower Than Hamilton

After finishing fourth in the Sprint qualifying session for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Charles Leclerc spoke to F1TV and tried to explain why he was more than 3-tenths of a second slower than pole-sitter and Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton. “For a while now, I’ve realized I don’t have the same ease I had in 2025 with last year’s car,” explained the Monegasque driver. “Even when I’m pushing as hard as I can and putting it all together, we’re talking about tenths: Lewis manages to exploit 100% of the car’s potential more often.”

“I, on the other hand, struggle more and actually have to work on everything. I think the most important thing is really the feel for this car, because if you don’t have that feeling, it’s hard to set a good lap time and have the confidence needed to tackle qualifying. In SQ1 and SQ2, I was close to the car’s limit, and I was pretty confident. Once I got to SQ3, I lost the car. I just don’t feel it as well as I’d like.”

The Monegasque driver is nonetheless surprised by Hamilton’s pole: “We’re extremely surprised, I think, that Lewis took pole today. In general, we expected to be much further behind the cars in front, so this is a big step forward. As a team, we’re really surprised to be this competitive on a track like this.”

Hamilton had a dream day at his home circuit: “I love this track and this crowd. It feels like a dream. The car was fantastic today; everyone back at the factory is giving it their all—we’re bringing new parts to every race. I’m grateful to them for this pole.” The seven-time world champion then added: “We’ve been fast right from the start, but we didn’t expect to be in contention for the front row here. I’m speechless—I can’t even remember the last time I started from the front here. The pace is good. It’ll be tough, but I’ll do my best to keep everyone behind me in the race.”