Charles Leclerc hands Ferrari instruction over major McLaren secret

Charles Leclerc has told Ferrari it must "find what McLaren found" as it tries to rescue its slow start to 2025.

After pushing McLaren close for the 2024 constructors' title, Ferrari is yet to win a grand prix in '25 and currently sits third in the standings after being overhauled by Mercedes in the Canadian Grand Prix for second, although McLaren is still 197 points ahead of Mercedes.

Leclerc has taken all three of Ferrari's grand prix podiums in 2025 as the team tries to solve balance and ride-height issues plaguing the SF-25, which have limited Lewis Hamilton's performances. 

McLaren has been the dominant car in F1 since an upgrade package was introduced at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix, with tyre wear and controlling tyre temperatures one area the machines of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri enjoy dominance over the rest of the field.

Assessing the situation, Leclerc felt it was also important for Ferrari to remain calm after rumours emerged in the Italian media of him potentially looking for an exit and the position of boss Fred Vasseur being under threat.

"I think none of us are satisfied with how it is going at the moment, that is clear," Leclerc told media, including RacingNews365, speaking before the Canadian Grand Prix, where Mercedes overhauled Ferrari in the constructors'. 

"We came into the season thinking that we had chances to challenge McLaren and Red Bull in order to win the championship, and that has not been the case so far.

"McLaren has done a huge step forward compared to last year, a lot more than anyone else, and if we compare ourselves to our competitors other than McLaren, it is not like we are having a shocking season.

"We are second in the constructors', and as a matter of fact, this is not good enough, and we're not happy about that and we need to find what McLaren found, but we also need to be careful with everything going on around the team, because sometimes I think that can change the perception of someone's season.

"McLaren is doing an outstanding job, and we are absolutely not happy with the situation we are in, but we just need to find ourselves as well, just like Mercedes and Red Bull need to find the outstanding thing McLaren has found."