Charles Leclerc’s predictions on Ferrari’s performance and the work engineers will focus on in Australia. On Thursday in Melbourne, it was the drivers’ turn to speak.

Here we go. After months of endless waiting, Formula 1 is finally back. Starting tomorrow, Friday, February 14, the Power Units will roar to life, and the twenty drivers will take to the track for the first two free practice sessions of the 2025 season. But during the Italian night, it was time for the main protagonists to make their statements to the media. Charles Leclerc sent a clear message to all his rivals and focused on Ferrari’s work plan for this weekend in Australia.

With the start of the new year, as always, expectations are very high for the Maranello team, but never as much as in this 2025 season. With the new Charles Leclerc-Lewis Hamilton pairing, fans expect a lot and ask for just one thing: for one of the two world titles to return to Italy. But of course, as we know, drivers alone are not enough. Without a competitive car, no one can take it to the top step of the podium. So, how is this SF-25?

From what we could gather over the three days of testing in Bahrain, it doesn’t seem bad. Over the 24 hours, we did see rear-end instability, borderline control situations, and a rather difficult car to handle, but we must also consider other factors. Ferrari was running with the engine at a lower setting, not pushed to the maximum, and the aerodynamic configuration of the rear wing was certainly not the one they will use in April on the same Sakhir circuit.

All this could explain the step back compared to their number one rival: McLaren. We must also consider that this first Grand Prix is held on a completely different track. It’s a very fast circuit, with very few slow corners, it’s a street circuit, and the temperatures, of course, are different. All these factors could even shake up the pecking order.

During Media Day, the opening day of the weekend, Charles Leclerc shared his thoughts ahead of this first event. “I think both the team and I have prepared well, and we are ready. Now it’s time to put everything together, and this weekend we will get a first picture of the competitive landscape,” said the Monegasque.

“As always, but even more so for the first race, we will be very focused on ourselves. We don’t have too much information about our rivals, so we will focus only on preparing each phase of the weekend in the best possible way. We will work on fine-tuning the setup and implementing some solutions tested in the simulator based on what we gathered in testing. The goal is to have a smooth weekend that will allow us to make the most of the SF-25’s potential.” – the Ferrari driver concluded ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.