Charles Leclerc and Ferrari are unable to keep up with the leaders at the season opener in Melbourne – but a radio message from the Scuderia star helps to lighten the mood
As a long-standing Ferrari driver, Charles Leclerc is no stranger to the pit radio. In his career with the reds, the Monegasque driver has received the now legendary “We are checking!” countless times in response to his questions – but since the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, there is a new star in the Ferrari radio communications sky.
On lap 25 of the rain race, Leclerc reports to the pit radio and asks in puzzlement: “Do we have a leak?” His engineer follows up: “A leak from what?” Leclerc: “I have the seat full of water, well, full of water.” To which Leclerc’s engineer replies: “Must be the water.” While the commentator boxes and TV viewers worldwide burst into laughter, the Monegasque driver at least reacts quickly: “Let’s put that in the words of wisdom.”
For Formula 1 fans, who find the communication hilarious, the scene is of course a godsend, and it goes viral on social media during the race. So if not a winner’s trophy, Ferrari at least brings a new meme from Australia…
Leclerc believes in the drinking system: “There was nothing left”
Alone: Even after getting out of the car, Leclerc couldn’t say for sure whether the large amount of water was simply a result of the rain or whether it had a different cause: “Oh, I have no idea what it was, but I was completely soaked. There was so much water,” he says – and then reveals his theory: ‘I think it was the hydration system, because when I went to drink in the next round, there was nothing left.’
Words of wisdom for @Charles_Leclerc F1 AusGP pic. twitter.com/qoclYC8J4t
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 16, 2025
But on a disappointing Sunday for the Scuderia, that is probably Leclerc’s smallest problem: he only manages eighth place at the finish, two positions ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton. The Ferrari stars are even briefly propelled forward by the changeable weather conditions down under, but in the end the team is unable to capitalize on this.
“It was definitely a missed opportunity, especially in such changeable conditions, where you have to score points despite a lack of pace. We didn’t manage that today,” says Leclerc, annoyed, and gives his team a disastrous report: ”At the beginning of the race, when it was still rather uneventful, we weren’t fast enough. And at the moment when it mattered to make the right decision, we didn’t make it.”
However, the 27-year-old also takes a critical look at himself: ”The first mistake you have to blame is mine – my slip in turn eleven. As a result, I lost four or five positions. That put us in an unfavorable starting position,“ says Leclerc, who believes: ‘If I hadn’t made that mistake, we might have finished third or fourth, which would have been the maximum.’
”Im Vergleich zu McLaren und Max deutlich zu langsam”
But that’s how the Ferrari drivers even finished behind their already mixed starting positions in row four. In any case, Leclerc is satisfied after the Grand Prix, especially since he believes: “I don’t think we learned much new today. The conditions were so special that it’s difficult to draw any concrete conclusions.”
Ferrari’s weak form is likely to continue to puzzle the team ahead of China: “We were clearly too slow compared to the McLarens and Max. We will analyze this, but it was definitely a difficult day for us,” says the Scuderia star. On the intermediates, they were “on a similar level to the Mercedes in front of us”, “but that’s about it,” said Leclerc: “McLaren and Red Bull were significantly faster.”
The strong pace of the papaya racers is a particular headache for last year’s third-placed finisher in the world championship, especially since he has since noticed that McLaren was able to set “impressive times”. Leclerc: “My engineer didn’t give me the lap times of the McLaren once during the race, I think they were just too far away.”
But his engineer told him a different piece of wisdom on Sunday…