Charles Leclerc’s latest ‘struggle’ comments suggest Ferrari have weakened his strongest skill

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Charles Leclerc went into this season knowing he had to try and prove himself against another multiple world champion.

When Ferrari gave Charles Leclerc his chance, he was put up against Sebastian Vettel.

Vettel was a four-time world champion and had come close to adding to his collection of titles after his move from Red Bull.

Leclerc, on the other hand, had spent a single season with Sauber before joining the Scuderia, but immediately put the German under pressure.

Vettel ‘kept quiet’ about some of the issues he faced at Ferrari, but ultimately, he reached a point where Ferrari felt they had to replace him and brought in Carlos Sainz.

Lewis Hamilton has now arrived to try and put Leclerc under pressure and make Ferrari his team.

However, after 14 races, Leclerc has a 42-point lead over his new teammate and secured five podiums while Hamilton waits for his first visit to the rostrum this season.

Leclerc has been one of the most impressive drivers on the grid this season, even if Ferrari haven’t given him the car to prove it.

In a recent interview, he admitted that he’s had to sacrifice one of his strongest skills to try and be competitive this year.

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Charles Leclerc recalls qualifying ‘struggle’ amid tricky 2025 campaign for Ferrari

Previously in his career, Martin Brundle has described Leclerc as F1’s best qualifier, and the stats back that up.

Leclerc has 27 pole positions to his name, and only needs three more to move into the top 10 in Formula 1 history, surpassing five-time world champion Juan Manuel Fangio.

In an interview in Autosprint’s latest edition, Leclerc has asked about qualifying this season and explained: “It’s definitely always very difficult to make a difference when you’re on the limit.

“When there’s no margin, it’s a moment to go beyond. This year, the situation is different than in the past: to get the most out of my car, I had to choose fairly extreme setups, which makes the exercise even more difficult.

“However, I’ve improved in the race, where I’m much stronger than in the past. I’ve found a setup that helps me during the Grand Prix, even if I struggle a bit more in qualifying.

“Overall, however, the choice I made pays off. It’s not enough to be strong in qualifying; you always have to find a balance that pays off overall.

“I’m still quite satisfied with what we’ve done so far with this car; I don’t think we could have achieved much more.”

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

Is Charles Leclerc’s Formula 1 potential being stifled at Ferrari?

Only two drivers – Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen – have started more Grand Prix for Ferrari than Leclerc.

The Monegasque driver is 27 years old and entering the peak years of his career.

If Ferrari don’t nail the next set of regulations, then despite having a long-term contract with the Scuderia, can Leclerc afford to see out potentially the best years of his career with the team?

Leclerc’s pole-to-win conversion rate is a concern, but that’s primarily down to outperforming his car’s expectations before the likes of Hamilton, Max Verstappen and more recently, the two McLaren drivers, using their superior race pace against him.

Almost every team on the grid would happily bring Leclerc in if he made himself available.

Ferrari have been sacrificing qualifying performance at times this season, and that’s stopped Leclerc from utilising one of his greatest strengths.

Team principal Fred Vasseur needs to find a way around this to avoid Leclerc becoming another of F1’s nearly men.