Charles Leclerc’s wait for the Ferrari star’s first podium of the 2025 season continued at the Japanese Grand Prix last Sunday as he came home in a distant fourth at Suzuka.
The 27-year-old registered his best result of the campaign so far in Japan after only finishing eighth at the Australian Grand Prix and fifth prior to Ferrari’s double disqualification from the Chinese Grand Prix. But Leclerc finished 13.968 seconds off the Japanese GP podium spots.
Also, Leclerc had a lonely Japanese GP en route to P4 whilst Max Verstappen held off Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to win, with the top three covered by only 2.129s. His result further leaves the Ferrari star sixth in the F1 drivers’ championship on 20 points from three rounds.
Gian Carlo Minardi urges Charles Leclerc to be ‘more convinced’ telling Ferrari to improve their 2025 F1 car
Ferrari’s struggles at Suzuka – with Lewis Hamilton also only finishing the Japanese GP in P7 and 29.182s off the lead – convinces Gian Carlo Minardi that Leclerc now needs to be ‘more convinced’ when telling the Scuderia where they have to improve their SF-25 going forward.
Minardi was also somewhat surprised to hear Ferrari say they still need to ‘know the car’ at the Japanese GP. So, the founder of the eponymous Minardi F1 Team feels Leclerc will know where the Maranello natives need to focus on fixing the SF-25 potentially more than Ferrari.
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Minardi has told Motorsport.com: “Leclerc, he still fought. I would like him to be a bit more incisive [and] more convinced of what he has to do to improve the car.
“Probably contrary to the team, he knows perfectly well the problems they still have to face because they seemed a bit optimistic in saying that first, you have to know the car. It’s their job to know the car, especially because they made it.”
Charles Leclerc and Fred Vasseur disagree on how to fix Ferrari’s 2025 F1 car
Leclerc left Suzuka frustrated after finishing the Japanese GP a distant fourth as the podium trio of Verstappen, Norris and Piastri held a 13.968s lead to him. Also, boss Fred Vasseur and Leclerc disagree on Ferrari’s focus to fix the SF-25 between its balance issues or big tweaks.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory
Ferrari may soon stop developing their 2025 car and focus on F1’s 2026 regulations now the Scuderia have realised the SF-25’s inherent handling problems. Maranello chiefs will rule on moving the focus to 2026 based on their form at the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix.
Lifting the ride height of Hamilton and Leclerc’s cars at Suzuka also did not fix their issues as Ferrari’s rear-end is structurally too soft and causes excessive wear to the skid block. Ferrari and their drivers would like to run the SF-25 lower to the ground to unlock its performance.
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