Ferrari having to “reset expectations” for Barcelona after Monaco F1 podium

Charles Leclerc said that Ferrari is having to “reset its expectations” for the Spanish Grand Prix, just a week after it finished on the podium in Monaco.

Leclerc secured Ferrari’s best results of the 2025 Formula 1 season on the streets of Monte Carlo, finishing a close second to race winner and McLaren rival Lando Norris.

However, the Monegasque driver expects a “back to normal” outcome in Spain this weekend, with the Barcelona track expected to expose the weaknesses of the SF-25 package.

“We got to reset a bit our expectations going into this weekend compared to a weekend like Monaco where it was a bit more positive,” he told reporters including Crash.net.

“However, it doesn't change our approach. More than an extreme setup, the balance that we are trying to target is very, very aggressive this year and we've got to run like that and that doesn't change now. So we are still in the same situation for this.”

Leclerc played down Ferrari’s chances in the build-up to the Monaco GP, only to be competitive at his home track straight from the off in practice.

However, the Monegasque driver said he has genuine reasons to believe that Ferrari wouldn’t fare near the front of the field in Barcelona, with one-lap pace an area where he particularly expects to struggle this weekend.

”I was genuinely surprised [in Monaco,” he said. “The previous years we always kind of expected to be strong in Monaco.

“We were not saying that we are going to dominate the weekend, but we know that we are going to be strong.

“This year I genuinely thought that we would be poor.  I think that gave us more understanding of our car and maybe the strength of this car that played a bigger part than what we thought [it would] in Monaco.

"However, I will be happily surprised again this weekend, but I don't think that there's any downplay for this weekend.

“It's what I genuinely think and I think we will be back to normal, which means a situation that we have struggled with since the beginning of the season, especially in qualifying. In the race it may be better.

"We also expect a very warm weather. We've seen that with warm temperatures, McLaren tends to be very, very, very fast. So everything points towards a more normal weekend for us.

Leclerc stressed it’s harder to say how Ferrari would perform over the rest of the season - the last under the current rule cycle - but hopes the Prancing Horse will start to close the gap to the front from this weekend's race.

“I don't want to be thinking so much long term just because I have no visibility,” he explained.

“I know what's going to come for us in terms of small adjustments and improvements on the car. I don't know what's coming for the [rival] teams, so it's very difficult to predict or expect anything.

“On paper, it is going to be a tough one to go and beat McLaren in a year like this where they've been so dominant for the first part of the season.

"It's going to be very tough, but I'll give everything until the end. I hope this weekend helps us to do a step in the right direction and then hopefully with new parts as soon as possible, we can then take the lead in terms of performance on track at least and then that will help us to hope for better.

"But we cannot afford to lose too many races and starting from this weekend, I hope that we'll be closer to the guys in front."