David Coulthard baffled by something Charles Leclerc did during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, ‘little bit confusing…’

Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen stole the headlines after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after their opening corner clash, but it was Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc who deserved the most credit.

Heading into the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Ferrari were still waiting to secure their first podium of the season, outside of Lewis Hamilton’s Sprint Race win in China.

Charles Leclerc was starting fourth on the grid after believing he had extract the maximum performance out of his SF-25 in qualifying, and watched the first corner incident between Piastri and Verstappen unfold ahead of him.

The Monegasque driver then settled into the race and appeared to be in a battle with Mercedes driver George Russell for the final spot on the podium, although both drivers knew Lando Norris was looming in the background after starting 10th following his crash in qualifying.

Leclerc took many people by surprise by running far longer than anybody else on the medium tyres, briefing leading the race before benefiting from Ferrari’s rapid pit stops.

In his final stint, Leclerc flew past Russell, with Mercedes struggling with their tyre management in the closing stages of the race.

While Hamilton wasn’t happy after the race in Saudi Arabia, his battle with Norris where he re-overtook the McLaren star twice using the DRS might have been the difference between Leclerc earning Ferrari their first podium of 2025, and missing out once again.

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David Coulthard finds Charles Leclerc’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix performance ‘confusing’

Leclerc parked up alongside Piastri and Verstappen on the start line before heading to the podium in Jeddah as he waited to be interviewed by David Coulthard.

The former Red Bull and McLaren star said to Leclerc, “Well, Charles, I expect you’re going to be a little bit happier with your third than Max is with his second.

“Your long stint was fantastic. It’s a little bit confusing from the outside. The pace wasn’t there in quali, but your race pace was incredibly strong.”

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Leclerc replied: “Yeah. It’s the way it is for now. Unfortunately, in qualifying, we don’t manage to extract more out of the car.

“I was extremely happy with the lap yesterday. I was very, very happy with the race today.

“I think we maximised absolutely everything. So, I’m very proud of what we’ve done. Now we just need to improve the car in order to be fighting a bit further.”

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Ferrari must discover why Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton’s pace improved in Saudi Arabia

What must be so frustrating for Leclerc is the fact that the final stint of the race in Saudi Arabia proved he was able to compete with the quickest drivers on track.

However, the fact that he wasn’t able to deliver that level of performance from the first lap highlights Ferrari’s limitations.

It might also explain why Hamilton was able to win the Chinese Grand Prix Sprint Race if Ferrari are only competitive in low fuel settings.

Although, if that were the case, then they wouldn’t be a few tenths off their rivals in qualifying.

Martin Brundle has shared how Ferrari privately feel about Hamilton after his start to the season, but Leclerc’s reputation is still very much intact at Maranello.

It speaks volumes that Brundle compared Leclerc to Michael Schumacher after one moment this season, but he’s still got a long way to go before he’s on the same level as the German legend.