Charles Leclerc rarely finishes nearly a minute and a half behind the race winner, but that was the unpleasant surprise delivered by Silverstone 2025. While Lando Norris basked in the adoration of the home crowd after a comfortable victory, Leclerc was left disappointed after a poor 14th place finish, second-to-last of the classified runners. He described it as one of the most baffling and disappointing performances of his Ferrari career.

And now, Leclerc isn’t just disappointed, he’s demanding answers. Leclerc’s afternoon went from bad to bewildering, with the Monegasque driver falling behind from the early stages. It was a case of déjà vu for Ferrari — but instead of mechanical failure or strategic chaos, this time it was simply a case of being “nowhere”, as Leclerc put it.

 

Silverstone slump raises alarm bells

He finished the race 84 seconds behind the leader. That’s not a typo. This number is all the more staggering when you consider that there were two safety car periods that compressed the field. In other words, Leclerc had every opportunity to catch up, but simply couldn’t.

“I want answers before I go back home,” he told the media with uncharacteristic firmness. “I’ll work hard to try and understand what was going on there.”

If there were any doubts that Leclerc had reached the end of his tether, they have now been dispelled. He doesn’t just want the engineers at Maranello to examine the SF-25’s disaster on Sunday — he expects a full forensic investigation.

 

A Risky Gamble That Didn’t Pay Off

Leclerc’s day got off to a poor start even before the lights went out. As the cars made their way around on the formation lap, the unpredictable weather at Silverstone was causing havoc, leaving the track in a state of partial wetness.

The Ferrari driver opted to swap his intermediate tyres for medium slicks in a bold strategic decision that he admits was entirely his own.

“No, I’m not happy with the decision,” he admitted. “That was my decision. The first and second sectors were suitable for slicks. I expected the third sector to dry quicker, but it did not. It did not. Quite a few of us made that mistake.”

While others, such as George Russell and Fernando Alonso, also made the same misjudgement, they didn’t perform quite so spectacularly badly. Leclerc’s race unravelled immediately after the early pit stop as he struggled to find grip and confidence in the greasy conditions.

However, he is not using that mistake as an excuse. In fact, he’s quite clear that this wasn’t the main problem.

“This is part of the reason why we had a bad race, but I’d say the main reason is our lack of pace today,” he stressed clearly pointing the finger at Ferrari.

Hamilton slams Ferrari

 

Costly errors and a clash with a familiar face

As if the strategic misfire wasn’t enough, Leclerc went off track a few times for good measure. Multiple off-track excursions added to the general air of desperation, and he even collided with his former teammate Carlos Sainz, now at Williams, in an awkward moment that cost the Spaniard a potential shot at scoring points.

This was one of several examples of Ferrari looking completely out of balance and out of control in the mixed conditions. While Sainz had every right to feel aggrieved, Leclerc himself seemed more bewildered than combative.

In qualifying, things hadn’t gone much better. A late mistake in Q3 cost him a chance of a front-row start, and he made sure to inform his race engineer — and the world — that he had thrown it away. But even that disappointment didn’t prepare him for Sunday’s debacle.

“I was expecting some degradation and sliding, but not a drop in performance like that,” he said. “Something was just not working.”

Brundle critical of “unfair” Toto Wolff

 

A familiar Ferrari mystery

Sadly for Leclerc, this isn’t an isolated case of underperformance from Maranello. While Ferrari can reach great heights — including podiums and pole positions — their lows are now reaching new depths. What makes this slump at Silverstone all the more frustrating is that teammate Lewis Hamilton didn’t fare much better.

The seven-time world champion finished a distant fourth and was equally unimpressed, calling the SF-25 “the most complicated car I’ve ever driven”. This is not exactly a ringing endorsement for a machine that Ferrari had hoped would usher in a new title charge.

When both drivers are singing from the same hymn sheet of misery, the issue clearly goes deeper than just set-up or driver error. Leclerc wants answers, but it’s unclear if anyone at Ferrari currently has them. The car looked slow, clumsy and uncertain — the last things you want when it rains at Silverstone.

McLaren now blame Verstappen for Piastri penalty

 

Heading into the summer break with headaches

With the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa looming after the break, Leclerc’s demand for answers has become time-sensitive. Ferrari will need to conduct a thorough debrief, and perhaps even a spiritual cleansing of the SF-25, if they are to salvage anything from this season.

It’s not just about pride, it’s about trajectory. For Leclerc, who has long been tipped for the world championship, these kinds of weekends are becoming more than just “unlucky blips”. With the 2026 regulations looming, the timing couldn’t be worse.

“I’ll work hard to try and understand what was going on there,” he repeated, grimacing determinedly as he visualised the whiteboard sessions at Maranello.

 

Ferrari under pressure… again

Despite all the talk of progress, stability and building a team around Leclerc and Hamilton, Ferrari continues to exhibit the same frustrating unpredictability that has characterised its post-Schumacher era. The SF-25 is a puzzle, but not the fun kind. And their star driver has had enough of the guessing game.

With Spa approaching, Ferrari need to do more than find pace — they need to convince their drivers that there’s light at the end of the tunnel for the Prancing Horse. At the moment, Charles Leclerc looks more like a man in search of an escape route than a championship contender.

What do you think is really going on at Ferrari? Was Leclerc right to criticise the team so publicly, or is he part of the problem too? Can the Scuderia bounce back before the summer break ends, or will this be another lost season in red? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Hamilton slams Ferrari & announces talks

 

MORE F1 NEWS – McLaren now blame Verstappen for Piastri penalty

Oscar Piastri has been the model Formula One driver since arriving in the sport at the start of 2023. The previous summer he had a very public spat with Alpine to whom he was contracted as a junior driver, yet the fallout as reported in the media landed square on the disorganised French F1 team’s legal department.

Having been surprised by Fernando Alonso quitting the team, Alpine quickly announced on social media that their junior driver Oscar Piastri would replace the outgoing world champion. Within 90 minutes, the young Aussie hit back stating he would not be joining the Alpine team the following season.

Lacking confidence in the Renault backed F1 project, Piastri had secured a contract behind the scenes with the McLaren F1 team which was subsequently verified as valid by the Contract Recognition Board (CRB). In an underperforming McLaren car, Piastri delivered a decent rookie season scoring half the points of his…READ MORE ON THIS STORY