Charles Leclerc drove an incredible race at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on Sunday, to secure Ferrari’s first podium of the season. The Monegasque racing ace also bagged the 44th podium of his career, joining Fernando Alonso in a joint-fifth place in terms of most podiums for the Scuderia.
Yet, it was Max Verstappen who got the nod of acknowledgment from the fans with the Driver of the Day award. The #1 driver, who had bagged a sensational pole position on Saturday, secured a P2 finish at the chequered flag—keeping him in close contention for the title with the leading McLaren pair of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
That being said, Leclerc‘s drive has really gone under the radar. He ran the longest in his first stint on the medium tires for 29 laps, before pitting for hards. It was the perfect strategy by Ferrari to ensure the #16 driver had fresher rubber relative to George Russell, who had dived into the pits for a tire change on lap 20 itself.
Even McLaren Formula E driver, Sam Bird stated how Leclerc’s tire preservation and race pace was spectacular and picked him for the Driver of the Day accolade.
“Yeah, I’d almost call him driver of the day, to be honest. Because he’s, in my opinion, outperformed that Ferrari car. He delivered a stunning first stint on the medium tires, going miles longer than everybody else around him and still delivering some great lap times. So for me, Charles Leclerc today, one of the drivers of the race,” he said.
BBC’s Andrew Benson was also in agreement with his co-host on the F1: Chequered Flag podcast. In fact, Leclerc’s opening stint is the reason why he was able to power away from the likes of Norris and Russell.
Thank you Bryan!
Another piece of radio gold from Charles Leclerc #F1 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/X51Lb59Qou
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 20, 2025
Then, his second stint on the hards got tricky with a fast-charging #4 driver on fresher, faster, yellow-walled medium tires, as he had gone for the alternative strategy and started the race on the hard tires. But Leclerc drove some consistently fast laps to keep the Briton outside of his DRS range to secure P3.
In the end, the chequered flag came just in time for the Monegasque racing ace with just over a second separating him from Norris.
Yet, Leclerc had to wring the neck of his SF-25 to keep ahead of his rivals. This is because, as things stand, the Ferrari car is not on par with the likes of Mercedes, McLaren and even the Red Bull.
But the #16 driver believes that a new front-wing upgrade—scheduled for the Spanish GP—might unlock the full potential of their package.
“We’re extracting the maximum out of the car. We just need a better car. And I think a turning point for the season would be in Barcelona with a new front wing. Hope it can play a little bit in our favor,” he explained.
That said, while Ferrari will be looking to extract more pace from the SF-25, their attentions will also be divided to look into the balance issues on their package—something that has prevented Lewis Hamilton from completely assimilating into the team yet.
