Charles Leclerc has now created ‘doubt’ at Ferrari’s factory after what he just said after finishing sixth at Imola

Charles Leclerc understands better than nearly any other driver in the history of Formula 1 what it means to race for Ferrari in Italy.

In his seventh season as a Ferrari Formula 1 driver, Charles Leclerc has only qualified worse than his P11 at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on one occasion.

That was at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix which coincidentally was the last time that Ferrari failed to have a driver start in the top 10 of an F1 race.

Lewis Hamilton joined Leclerc by exiting in Q2 on Saturday, although Ferrari’s fans still showed their support for Hamilton and his teammate in the crowd despite the disappointing outcome of that session.

Ferrari have serious issues when running on new tyres, making qualifying extremely difficult and with Leclerc’s home race in Monaco around the corner, they’ll be hoping to avoid another tricky session.

The race itself was far more positive for team principal Fred Vasseur’s outfit.

Hamilton impressed everyone by finishing fourth, although he benefited from being able to time his two pit stops when the virtual safety car and the actual safety car came out.

Leclerc wasn’t so lucky, losing out to Hamilton and Alex Albon in the closing stages of the race.

One of his post-race comments might have alarm bells ringing at Ferrari’s factory in Maranello ahead of their upcoming races.

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Charles Leclerc’s concerns about Ferrari after the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola

A report from the Italian publication Autosprint has shared more details about Ferrari’s race weekend.

It’s clear that the safety cars made a big difference to the outcome of the race for Ferrari and in particular Hamilton.

The SF-25 showed its full potential during the race, almost matching McLaren’s pace at times, but their struggles on low fuel in qualifying are still hampering them.

Speaking after the Grand Prix, Leclerc said: “We are working very hard on the simulator, I’m sorry that we always say that we have to understand something, but it’s the truth.

“We have to understand the basis of the problem.”

Autosprint reports that Leclerc has raised ‘doubts’ within Ferrari because their factory ‘has not yet fully identified’ what’s going wrong on a ‘mechanical level’.

Leclerc and Hamilton could barely keep their cars on the track at the Variante Alta chicane throughout the weekend, highlighting their weakness through slow corners, which doesn’t bode well for the next race on the streets of Monte Carlo.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory

Charles Leclerc has a better grasp on Ferrari’s F1 car than Lewis Hamilton

Leclerc has to use his previous experience at Ferrari to get the upper hand on Hamilton this season.

The seven-time world champion has proved time and again that given enough time, he can find another level in a car, as some of his previous teammates have discovered.

Fernando Alonso and Hamilton clashed in 2007 during his debut season as he immediately got to grips with his McLaren up against the reigning champion.

Rob Smedley thinks Leclerc has the upper hand over Hamilton for now, but the change in regulations next year could change that dynamic once again.

Fans were concerned by Leclerc’s complaints during practice at Imola, and while the weekend slowly improved, Ferrari are still nowhere near where they need to be this season.

Leclerc’s feedback will help give Ferrari direction, but they’re quickly running out of time to deliver an update that will have an impact this season before the ruleset is changed for 2026.