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Charles Leclerc swears eight times in explosive unbroadcast radio rant at British Grand Prix

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Charles Leclerc had been hoping for a strong result in qualifying for the British Grand Prix. Ferrari had been showing strong pace all weekend.

Teammate Lewis Hamilton topped a practice session for the first time as a Ferrari driver in FP1. The duo continued that pace in FP2, before Leclerc went quickest in FP3, setting up an interesting battle between the Maranello outfit and McLaren.

Lando Norris admitted he is cheering on Hamilton ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix. He is craving more battles with his fellow compatriot as he searches for his maiden win at Silverstone.

Hamilton is gunning for his 10th British GP win in 2025. He is yet to finish on the podium for Ferrari, excluding Sprint races, and will be desperate to end that streak this weekend.

However, it was another disappointing showing from Ferrari in qualifying as they failed to capitalise on the pace they had shown in practice.

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc at the 2025 British Grand Prix
Photo by Bryn Lennon – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

Charles Leclerc attacks himself in explosive radio rant after British Grand Prix qualifying

Ferrari and McLaren looked like a shoo-in for pole position, as Max Verstappen was an outsider in practice. The Red Bull driver had been constantly complaining about the car on Friday as he went P10 in FP1.

However, the 27-year-old came out of nowhere to secure his fourth pole position of the season over Oscar Piastri and Norris. Hamilton looked like he could snatch pole on home soil after setting the quickest time in sector one, but he lost time in the final sector.

PosDriverTeamQ3
1Max VerstappenOracle Red Bull Racing1m24.892s
2Oscar PiastriMcLaren F1 Team1m24.995s
3Lando NorrisMcLaren F1 Team1m25.010s
4George RussellMercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team1m25.029s
5Lewis HamiltonScuderia Ferrari HP1m25.095s
6Charles LeclercScuderia Ferrari HP1m25.121s
7Kimi AntonelliMercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team1m25.374s
8Oliver BearmanMoneyGram Haas F1 Team1m25.471s
9Fernando AlonsoAston Martin Aramco F1 Team1m25.621s
10Pierre GaslyBWT Alpine F1 Team1m25.785s
2025 British Grand Prix Qualifying results

The 40-year-old went P5 in the end, as George Russell beat his time in the final seconds. Leclerc locks out an all-Ferrari third row of the grid with sixth, and the Monegasque driver was far from impressed.

He came over his radio to attack himself for a disappointing showing. He swore eight times in a message that was not broadcasted.

“F—. F—. F—. F— THAT. So f—— s— I am. I am so f—— s—. That‘s what I am,” he said.

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

Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton at the 2025 British Grand Prix
Photo by Mark Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

Ferrari show they are contention for a strong result at the British Grand Prix

Ferrari will no doubt be disappointed by their result in qualifying at Silverstone. Hamilton and Leclerc had been quick all weekend, but failed to make it count when it mattered.

However, the Maranello outfit can take encouragement from their performance, as they looked to have the pace to match McLaren for arguably the first time this season.

Hamilton’s body language suggested a breakthrough at Ferrari in Austria as he looked ‘slightly more connected’ to the car, especially in qualifying. Being two tenths off the pace of Verstappen in Q3 proved that the team may have found something.

With rain forecast for the race, anything can happen at Silverstone. But it is clear that Ferrari cannot be ruled out for at least a podium on Sunday.