New Ferrari evidence emerges after Hamilton and Leclerc complaints trigger immediate action
Charles Leclerc first complained of Ferrari’s steering feeling “heavy” as long ago as the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in April, it has emerged.
This information comes after it transpired that the team is working on a minor upgrade to the power steering after Leclerc and team-mate Lewis Hamilton raised concerns at the British Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc comments resurface after Lewis Hamilton joins calls for key Ferrari SF-25 upgradeFerrari held a filming day at Mugello earlier this week as the team’s highly anticipated rear-suspension upgrade appeared for the first time.
It is hoped that the tweak will rectify the SF-25’s persistent ride-height issues, allowing Ferrari to access more of the car’s underlying potential – and potentially compete for race wins – in the second half of the F1 2025 season.
The new suspension is set to be raced for the first time at next weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, having initially been expected to arrive at Silverstone.
Lewis Hamilton vs Charles Leclerc: Ferrari head-to-head scores for F1 2025👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates
👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates
With Hamilton leading calls for Ferrari to turn its attention to the 2026 car – codenamed Project 678 – ahead of the next year’s major rule changes, the suspension update in expected to be the team’s last major upgrade of the current campaign.
As reported by PlanetF1.com, however, it emerged this week that Ferrari is working on a small upgrade to the power steering of the SF-25.
The decision to commit to the upgrade, which is expected to arrive in time for the Hungarian Grand Prix early next month, came after both drivers aired frustrations over the steering at the recent British Grand Prix.
Hamilton and Leclerc are both said to have struggled with the precision of the steering, and their confidence in the stability of the front of the car, in the high-speed corners at Silverstone.
And resurfaced comments from the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix have revealed that Leclerc’s concerns over the steering have persisted for months.
Leclerc claimed his first podium finish of the F1 2025 season in Saudi Arabia, finishing third behind the race-winning McLaren of Oscar Piastri and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Speaking to Piastri in the cooldown room ahead of the podium ceremony in Jeddah, Leclerc called for changes to resolve the “heavy” sensation of the steering wheel.
The full exchange went as follows:
Leclerc: “We need to do something for our steering wheel in those conditions.”
Piastri: “So slippery?”
Leclerc: “What?”
Piastri: “Your steering wheel?”
Leclerc: “My steering wheel, mate, is so heavy.”
Piastri: “Heavy?”
Leclerc: “Yeah. We have no assistance.”
More on Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc from PlanetF1.comSpeaking to media including PlanetF1.com at the British Grand Prix, Hamilton described the SF-25 as “the most difficult car” he has ever driven at his home circuit.
And he insisted that Ferrari cannot afford to carry the current car’s weaknesses into next year.
He said at Silverstone: “It was the most difficult car I’ve driven here.
“It’s only my second time driving in the wet in this car and I can’t even express to you how hard it is.
“It’s not a car that likes those conditions, but lots of data to take from this.
“I might have to sit down with the people that are designing the car for next year because there’s elements of this car that cannot go into the following year.”
Read next: Jules Bianchi remembered: ‘The conditions were much worse than they looked’
planetf1.com
