Leclerc's rocky start sees light: Satisfaction despite 'extremely difficult' season

Charles Leclerc has said his start to 2025 has been "very satisfying" after an "extremely difficult" beginning to the season.

The 27-year-old has had his struggles behind the wheel in 2025 due to the troublesome nature of his SF-25 that he has at his disposal, resulting in there being no race wins before the summer break for Leclerc.

Despite these challenges to extract the most out of the 2025 car, the Ferrari man has still been able to find his way onto the podium five times, tallying 151 points to sit P5 in the drivers' standings.

Charles Leclerc's 121 points sees him currently sit 21 points behind George Russell in the drivers' standings, while Oscar Piastri leads the way with 284

Leclerc still looking for more after the summer break

"In terms of my own performance, as I was saying, I'm very happy with the way I perform this season," Leclerc stated in Thursday's press conference at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

"The best moment as a driver, no, because I want to win. So, as my own performance, I'm really happy. You always want to improve, and obviously, like Silverstone for example, was a very poor weekend from my side.

"Those weekends you want to have the least possible in a season. Apart from that, I'm very satisfied. That is a good thing."

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Leclerc hints at upgrades making major changes

There have been many struggles so far with the SF-25, bot for Leclerc and Hamilton, with the Monegasque having to change his driving style at times this season just to accommodate the troublesome Ferrari.

However, with the new upgrades being added to his 2025 machine, the 27-year-old has now had the chance to revert to what he is more comfortable with.

"I also think the upgrades go in the right direction of making the life of the drivers, Lewis and myself, a little bit easier because at the beginning of the season, it was extremely difficult," Lelerc continued.

"We had to set up the car in very extreme ways, and that made us also make more mistakes. Now we are a bit more in a reasonable window, which helps us to extract the maximum out of the car. It’s good that we see the result."