In an unexpected twist during the 2025 Australian Grand Prix, popular racer Charles Leclerc has revealed a stunning oversight by his team. Throughout the entire race, Ferrari failed to update their lead driver on the pace set by rival team, McLaren. This glaring omission in team communication underscores the vast gap in performance between the two racing giants.
Leclerc’s Ferrari team, once anticipated to be fierce competitors in the 2025 F1 season, found themselves struggling to maintain pace with McLaren at the Australian Grand Prix. The Scuderia team, predicted by many insiders to rank fourth in speed at the start of the season, was outclassed by McLaren, and to a lesser extent, Red Bull and Mercedes.
Leclerc, who qualified seventh on the starting grid, found himself just ahead of his new teammate, Lewis Hamilton. However, the duo was unable to muster a challenge for the podium positions or the race victory. The McLarens, in contrast, raced past their competitors with the only worthy challenger being Max Verstappen in his Red Bull.
Ferrari’s gamble to stick with dry tyres during the race backfired spectacularly. Leclerc found himself lagging 20 seconds behind race winner Lando Norris when the chequered flag was waved. Had it not been for the interruption by the Safety Car, Leclerc would likely have finished almost a minute behind the lead.
In a post-race conversation with the media, Leclerc voiced his surprise at the lack of information regarding McLaren’s race progress from his race engineer, Bryan Bozzi. “I knew they were fast, because I’ve heard they were fast, but my engineer didn’t even tell me their lap times once. They were just too far ahead,” he confessed.
The start of the season saw Ferrari pegged as the fourth quickest team, a prediction that came true in Melbourne. The decision to overhaul their competitive SF-24 during the winter and move to pull-rod suspension in place of push-rod has left many puzzled. This move, according to experts, will require time for Ferrari to fully unlock its potential.
Leclerc, though disappointed, remained optimistic about the future. He acknowledged that McLaren and Red Bull were steps ahead, but he also noted that Mercedes was still within their reach. However, he admitted that there was an urgent need to bridge the gap to the leaders. “McLaren and Red Bull were so much faster. So there’s a lot of work to be done,” he stated.
The issue of Ferrari’s performance in damp conditions also came to light as Leclerc highlighted this as a long-standing weakness. Despite the disappointment, Leclerc and his team remain focused on understanding and overcoming these performance issues.
The revelations from the Australian Grand Prix and the performance of the Ferrari team have created a buzz among Formula 1 enthusiasts. The hope is that these issues will be addressed swiftly, and fans can witness more competitive racing among the top teams in the coming races.
