“Lows are lower”: Charles Leclerc explains why Ferrari's passionate F1 culture is 'detrimental'

Charles Leclerc spoke about the culture at Ferrari, discussing the passion the crew showcases even during difficult times, such as the current season. They were one of the favorites for the championship heading into 2025, considering their competency last year; however, they have failed to keep that momentum up.

As Ferrari still struggles for race-winning pace against the dominating McLarens, Leclerc opened up about their passion, and how it can sometimes be "detrimental." In a conversation with The Times, he mentioned that the Scuderia holds immense passion, which can be echoed from their garage to back at their factory in Maranello; however, he explained that this can be troublesome, especially when the team goes through an issue.

"I still think that passion can be detrimental sometimes," Charles Leclerc told The Times. "Whenever you are going through difficult times, if you have a lot of passion, then it makes these times even more difficult, but it also helps us to give so much whenever you’ve got to do the extra hour in order to turn the situation around. I have no doubts that at the factory, just like here, everybody is putting their heart into it to turn the situation around."

He further mentioned that team principal Frederic Vasseur remains quite balanced with his emotions even when the team does perform well.

"Fred [Vasseur, the team principal] has played a huge part, trying to keep the emotions as balanced as possible, and not reacting too much. But this is tricky, because sometimes you’ve got very difficult situations that you’ve got to face and, as Ferrari, the highs are higher and the lows are also lower."

The team is in a difficult situation this season. As mentioned, they did not carry the competitiveness they had last year, and have barely performed strongly enough to win a single race. Meanwhile, their competitors have showcased a much better developmental trajectory.

This has been the team's curious case for years now. Ferrari manages to excel by the end of the season, but fails to keep that momentum up in the next one. This has seen them miss out on multiple championships. Moreover, this led to rumors of Charles Leclerc leaving the team in the future. However, he delivered a bold statement on the same.

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Charles Leclerc could finish his career with Ferrari

Charles Leclerc celebrates his home victory with Ferrari, Monaco, 2024 (Getty Images)

The Italian team signed Leclerc back in the 2019 season, and he has been racing with them ever since. He has been through the highs and lows throughout the years, but has always shown utmost dedication. However, rumors recently floated around the F1 world that he might be looking forward to leaving the team.

Even though Charles Leclerc has a multi-year contract with Ferrari, he was rumored to be seeking other opportunities given the team's current state of competitiveness. However, Leclerc recently mentioned that he isn't leaving them anytime soon; moreover, he could possibly stay with the team for the entirety of his career.

"I am, of course [committed as ever]," Charles Leclerc added. "My contract is still very much there for quite a few years [thought to be until 2029]. I’ve always said how much I love this team, and at the moment my only obsession is to try and bring Ferrari back to the top. That’s with Fred and Lewis."

He added:

"At the moment I don’t see myself anywhere else other than Ferrari. It is very possible that this would be the case for me [to end his career there]."

Ferrari currently stands in second place in the Constructors' Championship. Although their pace has been rather slow compared to their competitors, the team is expected to improve with a new suspension upgrade in Belgium, which has reportedly shown promising results.

Edited by Gunaditya Tripathi