Leclerc praises Ferrari's development after Ferrari's best qualifying result in 2025

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc sounded a positive note, praising the Scuderia's latest upgrades after the Maranello-based outfit recorded its best qualifying result so far in 2025.

Ferrari introduced a heavily upgraded floor on its SF-25 at the Red Bull Ring in a bid to salvage their season which has been an up-and-down campaign so far.

While Friday's practice sessions did not bring a clear picture whether Ferrari achieved a real step with the new floor, the qualifying session saw Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton deliver the Scuderia's best qualifying result of the 2025 F1 season.

The Monegasque sat out the opening session as he handed over his SF-25 to F2 driver Dino Beganovic. The 27-year-old looked slightly off the pace in final practice, but he delivered when it really mattered by ending up second just behind Lando Norris.

His team-mate Lewis Hamilton has struggled in qualifying so far in 2025, but the seven-time F1 champion displayed eye-catching pace throughout the entire session. The Briton slightly underdelivered in Q2, but he was on the pace in the final qualifying segment to secure P4 on the grid.

Reflecting on his day at the Red Bull Ring, Leclerc noted: "I’m very pleased. It’s been a long time since… I think it was Monaco the last time we started on the front row. It’s been a difficult season overall, but the team have kept pushing.

“We brought some new parts this weekend, which for sure made a difference, because if you look at the gaps everybody is super close, so it’s also thanks to the team. I’m very happy with the lap.

“It’s a good start to the weekend. We know that we have a better car normally in the race than we do in Qualifying, so I hope that we can put a bit more pressure on the McLarens tomorrow.”

Signing off with a word for his expectations for the race, Leclerc said: "I’m pleased with today’s result. The whole team has been pushing and we brought some upgrades here, so this result is also thanks to everyone’s collective effort.

"Congratulations to Lando (Norris) for his lap, he deserves it. It has been a while since we started on the front row, so hopefully, we can use the pace we have in race trim to put some pressure on the McLaren ahead of us."