'When it mattered to make right choice, we didn't': Leclerc upset with Ferrari blunder after poor start at Australian GP
Charles Leclerc finished 8th in the Australian GP, as Ferrari endured a poor start to the 2025 F1 season.
Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari debut at the Australian Grand Prix was far from the dream start he had envisioned. Finishing a frustrating 10th, he found himself trailing his teammate Charles Leclerc, who crossed the line in eighth. The Scuderia’s weekend was plagued by miscalculations and missed opportunities, leaving both drivers dejected as they struggled to match the pace of their rivals.
Ferrari’s struggles were evident from the outset, but it was their decision-making in the crucial final laps that proved costly. As late rain threw the race into chaos, most frontrunners opted for intermediate tyres.
Ferrari, however, took a gamble and kept Hamilton and Leclerc out, a move that backfired spectacularly. As the track conditions worsened, the duo slid down the order, unable to defend their positions.
Leclerc did not shy away from addressing the team’s errors, acknowledging the race as a lost opportunity.
"It was definitely a missed opportunity," Leclerc admitted after the race. "I mean, especially in those conditions when it's changing and that you don't have the pace, it's there that you got to score the points and we didn't today.
"We just... we were not fast enough at the beginning of the race when the race was kind of boring, and then once it mattered to make the right choice, we didn’t. But the first one to blame is my mistake out of Turn 11 because this I lost four positions or five positions, I think, and from that mistake, then it puts us on the back foot.
"And if you look three or four positions in front, then we are third or fourth, which I think was what could be done. But it's the way it is."
Weren't quick enough
While expectations for Ferrari had been high entering the season, their performance in Melbourne suggested they are still some way off the front-running pace. Wet conditions further complicated matters, limiting the data the team could extract from the race.
"About today, I don't think we've learned more than what we knew yesterday. I mean today, it's such particular conditions that it's very difficult to take anything out of."
McLaren emerged as the strongest outfit on the day, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen salvaged second place after an uncharacteristically challenging weekend. Leclerc conceded that Ferrari simply wasn’t quick enough.
"We were definitely very off in terms of pace compared to the McLarens and Max, so we'll look into it, but yes, for sure we were struggling today. Then McLaren and Red Bull were so much faster, so there's a lot of work to be done."
