Carlos Sainz’s ex-Ferrari mechanic reveals how ‘explosive’ Charles Leclerc has been ‘tamed’ by the Scuderia

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Charles Leclerc is now in his seventh season as a Ferrari driver and is on course to be the Scuderia’s lead driver for the sixth time since moving to Maranello back in 2019.

Only Carlos Sainz has yet outscored Leclerc since the Monegasque replaced Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari for the 2019 F1 season. The Spaniard bettered the 27-year-old during his first term racing in red in 2021 with more points (164.5 to 159) and Grand Prix podium results (4 to 1).

Long-time Ferrari mechanic Francesco Cigarini worked with Sainz throughout the 30-year-old’s tenure with the Scuderia. Like Sainz, who joined Williams after being replaced by Lewis Hamilton, the Italian left Maranello after the 2024 season and is now a pundit for Sky Italia.

Leclerc is dominating Hamilton so far in 2025, with Ferrari seeing the product of their driver academy score more points (151 to 109). He also leads the seven-time F1 champion in their Grand Prix qualifying (10-4) and results (11-2) head-to-heads after the first 14 of 24 rounds.

Ferrari have ‘tamed’ Charles Leclerc to see the Monegasque unleash his ‘huge talent’

Leclerc took Ferrari’s first pole position of 2025 at the Hungarian GP, as well, but he failed to convert it into the Scuderia’s first Grand Prix win this season. Hamilton won the F1 Sprint in China back in March for the pride of Italy’s only victory of any kind during the 2025 season.

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His pole in Hungary also marked the 27th of Leclerc’s Formula 1 career, which has featured a total of eight Grand Prix wins and 48 podiums to date – all of which he has taken for Ferrari. But for Leclerc to unlock all of his potential, Cigarini claims Ferrari felt he had to be “tamed”.

Cigarini told Formula1.it: “A huge talent, huge. I met him as a kid, and I loved him straight away, also because he was the one we missed with Jules Bianchi. Unfortunately, a friend, a key driver, passed away suddenly, and then we found him, who could rekindle this hope.

“I won’t deny that we saw a lot of Jules in Charles. He’s a huge talent. An explosive talent, too, who had to be tamed over the years because you have talent, but you have to work hard on the team, on making it known what you want, on being able to work and make the tyres work. These are all aspects that you find with time, [and] by working.”

Charles Leclerc needs Ferrari to improve to maximise the ‘tamed’ potential they nurtured

Leclerc has failed to convert a pole position into a Grand Prix win 22 times to date, following his P4 finish in the Hungarian GP before the summer break. Yet his poor record is largely due to Ferrari frequently failing to provide him with a car that is capable of winning Grands Prix.

His single-lap speed is almost unquestioned, with many believing Leclerc is the fastest driver on the 2025 F1 grid over a single lap. But he cannot maximise the potential that Cigarini says Ferrari fostered without the Scuderia improving what the Maranello team bring to the table.

The final race before the summer break is a prime example, as Ferrari compromised Leclerc in the Hungarian GP after changing his engine mode and tyre pressures to prevent excessive wear to his floor. Their changes meant he fell from fighting for the win to finishing in fourth.