Leclerc Defends Hamilton, Reveals 'Wall or Progress' Reality of Tricky Ferrari SF-25

Lewis Hamilton concluded his debut Ferrari season without a single grand prix podium, a first in his 19-year F1 career. Teammate Charles Leclerc, who shared the cockpit of the challenging SF-25, has come to his defense, revealing the car was so unpredictable that pushing for a lap time felt like a choice between crashing or advancing.

Why it matters:

Hamilton's move to Ferrari was one of the biggest stories in sports, carrying immense pressure and expectation. His struggle to adapt and achieve podium results has been a central narrative of the 2025 season. Leclerc's candid insight validates the car's inherent difficulties, shifting the narrative from individual driver performance to a shared technical challenge, while raising the stakes for Ferrari's crucial 2026 project.

The details:

• Leclerc described the SF-25 as extremely "tricky," requiring "full commitment" on every qualifying lap, with the margin for error being virtually non-existent.
• He explained the paradox of the car's behavior: to extract performance, a driver had to risk putting it "in the wall," but that extreme approach made it harder to understand the car's underlying behavior and improve its setup.
• Leclerc contrasted this with rivals like McLaren and Red Bull, whose more stable platforms allow drivers to push slightly less in early qualifying sessions, granting them clearer data for car development and optimization.
• The Monegasque driver's comments serve as a direct defense of Hamilton's challenging season, framing his teammate's difficulties as a product of the machine, not the driver.

What's next:

Both drivers have pinned their hopes on Ferrari's strategic decision to sacrifice development of the current SF-25 early in the season to focus fully on the all-new 2026 car. Leclerc expressed cautious optimism but refrained from bold predictions, stating he will wait for the first qualifying session of next year to judge their progress. Hamilton, despite the tough season, has voiced no doubts about returning for the 2026 regulation overhaul, aiming for a fresh title challenge with a hopefully more competitive Ferrari.