Charles Leclerc says Lewis Hamilton has made the ‘same comments’ as Carlos Sainz about Ferrari

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Charles Leclerc reflected on an ‘extremely difficult’ session after the Ferrari drivers qualified ninth and 20th at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. It was a huge blow to the team’s hopes of finishing second in the constructors’.

Ferrari’s double retirement in Sao Paulo had already rendered them outsiders, leaving them 36 points behind Mercedes. But this was another step closer to their worst championship showing of the ground-effect era.

Lewis Hamilton became the first Ferrari driver to qualify last since Giancarlo Fisichella in 2009. While Leclerc managed to reach Q3, he lapped almost two seconds slower than polesitter Lando Norris.

With a victory looking unrealistic, the entire Ferrari team may now be counting down the laps to the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi.

Charles Leclerc laments Ferrari’s ongoing struggles in wet conditions

Over the radio, Leclerc called Ferrari’s performance ’embarrassing’. He reported that he had ‘zero grip’ in the wet conditions.

He wasn’t the only driver who had that problem after the unforeseen rain. Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda agreed that it felt like driving on ice.

But for Leclerc, this was the continuation of a problem he’s had ever since he joined Ferrari back in 2019. They have ‘tried everything’ to make their car more stable on the intermediate and wet tyres, to no avail.

Former teammate Carlos Sainz and current teammate Hamilton have apparently made the same complaint.

“Ever since I’ve been here, we’ve had this issue in the rain,” said Leclerc. “It’s so frustrating because we’ve tried everything.

“Lewis and Carlos have made the same comments. We can’t manage to use the grip. It’s just extremely difficult to drive, even to keep it on the track.”

How many times has Carlos Sainz outqualified Lewis Hamilton in 2025?

Sainz is still Ferrari’s most recent race-winner, having stood on the top step of the podium at the Mexico City GP in October 2024.

It was a difficult start for the Spaniard at Williams, but he has scored some headline results in the second half of the season, most notably a podium at the Azerbaijan GP.

Sainz qualified an exceptional third in Las Vegas on Saturday and spoke highly of a Williams car that was competitive in all conditions.

It’s the sixth time this season that Sainz has outperformed Hamilton in qualifying despite his mechanical disadvantage.

Sainz lined up ahead of Charles Leclerc nine times with the same equipment last year, while Hamilton now trails the intra-team head-to-head 17-5.