Charles Leclerc is now in his seventh season with Ferrari and looks set to remain their number one driver for a sixth straight year since joining in 2019.
Since taking over from Kimi Raikkonen, only Carlos Sainz has finished ahead of Leclerc in points. That happened during Sainz’s first year with Ferrari in 2021 when he outscored him 164.5 to 159 and had more podiums as well, four to one.
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Francesco Cigarini, who spent many years as a mechanic at Ferrari, worked closely with Sainz during his time there. After leaving Maranello following the 2024 season – just like Sainz did when Hamilton came in – Cigarini moved into punditry with Sky Italia.
Leclerc vs Hamilton: The 2025 battle inside Ferrari
This season, Leclerc has been well ahead of Hamilton across the board. He’s got more points (151 to 109), leads their qualifying battles (10-4), and holds a clear edge in race results (11-2) after 14 of the scheduled 24 rounds.
Leclerc took Ferrari’s first pole position of 2025 at the Hungarian GP, as well, but he failed to convert it into the Scuderia’s first Grand Prix win this season. Hamilton won the F1 Sprint in China back in March for the pride of Italy’s only victory of any kind during the 2025 season.
His pole in Hungary also marked the 27th of Leclerc’s Formula 1 career, which has featured a total of eight Grand Prix wins and 48 podiums to date – all of which he has taken for Ferrari. But for Leclerc to unlock all of his potential, Cigarini claims Ferrari felt he had to be “tamed”.
Cigarini told Formula1.it: “A huge talent, huge. I met him as a kid, and I loved him straight away, also because he was the one we missed with Jules Bianchi. Unfortunately, a friend, a key driver, passed away suddenly, and then we found him, who could rekindle this hope.
“I won’t deny that we saw a lot of Jules in Charles. He’s a huge talent. An explosive talent too who had to be tamed over the years because you have talent but you have to work hard on the team on making it known what you want on being able to work and make the tyres work.”
Ferrari’s ‘tamed’ version of Charles Leclerc needs more from them to reach full potential
Leclerc has now started from pole without winning on 22 occasions, his latest coming after a fourth-place finish in Hungary before the summer break. But that stat says more about Ferrari’s struggles than his own, with the team often unable to give him a car capable of fighting for victories.
Few doubt his raw pace, especially over one lap, where many rate him as the fastest driver on the 2025 grid. But unless Ferrari make real progress, he won’t be able to fully capitalise on the potential Cigarini believes they helped shape.
The Hungarian Grand Prix was another example. Ferrari made changes to Leclerc’s engine mode and tyre pressures during the race to protect against floor damage, but those adjustments left him unable to challenge for the win and dropped him down to fourth.
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