Formula 1 Chinese GP
Charles Leclerc “a step back” from Lewis Hamilton after disappointing sprint result
Charles Leclerc has admitted that his struggles in the Chinese sprint were due to him and not the car.
Lydia Mee
Edited: Mar 22, 2025, 10:17 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has laid the blame on himself for his fifth-place finish in the Chinese sprint race after his new team-mate Lewis Hamilton secured his first sprint win with the team.
The Monegasque driver had already warned of his recurring struggles, specifically between Turns 1-3, at the Shanghai International Circuit after sprint qualifying yesterday, explaining to the media:
"I struggled on my side of the garage. From the beginning, I felt like I was a step back compared to Lewis and Lewis was just faster today.
"I struggled a lot in Turns 1, 2 and 3, which is more or less the same struggles I had as last year, so that's a bit of a shame but apart from that, everything was quite tight."
After starting the race from fourth on the grid, Leclerc lost his place to Mercedes driver George Russell to finish in fifth. Speaking to the media after the 19-lap sprint race, the Ferrari driver explained that he took a slightly different direction in setup compared to Hamilton. However, he still lays the blame for not achieving a higher finish on himself.
"I wouldn't really blame the car because Lewis is doing a great job with it, so for me, it's me really, until now I haven't been comfortable with the car as it is," Leclerc said.
"I took a slightly different direction compared to Lewis in terms of setup, but I don't think it's all in there. I just really struggle on this track historically, and there's no exception this weekend, but it's not an excuse. I need to react and qualifying would be a good start to turn things around."
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Although Leclerc was not happy with his fifth-place finish, the Maranello outfit scored 12 points in the sprint race. The team has enjoyed a turnaround from its struggles in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix last week when Leclerc crossed the line in eighth position and Hamilton in tenth.
Qualifying is set to take place in a few hours, at 3 p.m. local time (7 a.m. GMT), which will determine the starting grid for the Chinese Grand Prix tomorrow.
Photos from Chinese GP - Sprint Race
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday
Formula 1
70
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Norris suffers “worst nightmare” in Chinese GP sprint race
Next article Marko calls for step up in Liam Lawson performance after challenging Chinese GP sprint race
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Lydia Mee
Laurent Mekies credited with ending Red Bull's second seat "curse"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Bahrain GP in Malaysia
Laurent Mekies credited with ending Red Bull's second seat "curse"
Guenther Steiner jokes Christian Horner Ferrari talk is good book publicity
Formula 1
Formula 1
Bahrain GP in Malaysia
Guenther Steiner jokes Christian Horner Ferrari talk is good book publicity
Kimi Antonelli has "spooked himself" amid F1 title pressure, says Naomi Schiff
Formula 1
Formula 1
Bahrain GP in Malaysia
Kimi Antonelli has "spooked himself" amid F1 title pressure, says Naomi Schiff
More from
Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc admits he missed a chance against Max Verstappen – but not the obvious one
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Charles Leclerc admits he missed a chance against Max Verstappen – but not the obvious one
Why Charles Leclerc failed to outbrake Max Verstappen in Turn 1 at Singapore GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Why Charles Leclerc failed to outbrake Max Verstappen in Turn 1 at Singapore GP
More from
Ferrari
Fred Vasseur "not sure" if Red Bull is currently F1's best team
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
17 h
Fred Vasseur "not sure" if Red Bull is currently F1's best team
Why Ferrari caved in to Lewis Hamilton’s failed Singapore F1 gamble
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Why Ferrari caved in to Lewis Hamilton’s failed Singapore F1 gamble
Latest news
Gibbs, Spire and Gabehart argue over contempt and injunction
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
2 h
Gibbs, Spire and Gabehart argue over contempt and injunction
William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
2 h
William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix
Alexander Rossi takes over IR-28 testing as IndyCar pushes new chassis to the limit at Sebring
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 3 h
Alexander Rossi takes over IR-28 testing as IndyCar pushes new chassis to the limit at Sebring
Daniel Suarez will return to Spire Motorsports for 2027 NASCAR Cup season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
3 h
Daniel Suarez will return to Spire Motorsports for 2027 NASCAR Cup season
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe