How McLaren’s advantage has left Charles Leclerc ‘lost for words’ in F1 2025

Charles Leclerc has admitted that McLaren’s advantage in hot conditions left him “lost for words” during the 2025 F1 season.

McLaren are dominating both F1 championships in 2025.

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are battling for the drivers’ championship.

Third-placed Max Verstappen is already 46 points behind Norris after 10 rounds.

The constructors’ championship is already a foregone conclusion, with McLaren over 200 points clear of Ferrari.

With the regulations remaining stable over the winter, the top four teams were expected to fight a tight battle at the front.

Ferrari finished just 14 points off McLaren in the standings last year.

Speaking in the FIA press conference at Silverstone, Leclerc conceded that he doesn’t know what makes the McLaren so much quicker.

“I wish I knew what made McLaren so fast this year,” Leclerc said.

“For sure, they’ve done a significant step forward. Something I don’t think many of us expected. When you get to the last year of the regulations everything tends to converge a little bit. This year, they just did a big step forwards. I doubt it’s coming from one thing.

“It never comes from only one thing. I think it’s just many different things they’re doing better than others which makes a big difference at the end.”

McLaren’s most dominant showings this year have come in hotter temperatures.

This was the case in Miami, and at the Austrian GP last night, where Norris and Piastri were able to pull away despite battling hard on-track.

“It is true that one of the characteristics that has significantly improves since last year is hot weather,” Leclerc added. “I remember there was an FP3 in Bahrain this year where I am still wondering how did Oscar do that lap time in that heat? It was very impressive.

“There are these kinds of laps and you look and you’re just a bit lost for words and you don’t understand where the performance comes from. They’ve found something especially when it’s warm, on tyres. That we’re still trying to figure out.”

Leclerc confident in Ferrari upgrades

Ferrari introduced a revised floor at the Red Bull Ring.

It had an immediate impact as Ferrari was the second-fastest team in Austria.

When asked about further upgrades, Leclerc replied: “I’d be worried if I didn’t think that way because obviously we are doing everything in order to close that gap as much as possible.

“We’re going to try and bring upgrades as soon as possible. That will obviously tackle some of the weaknesses we have. I am sure it will close the gap whether it will close completely the gap I don’t think so.

“It’s a significant advantage that they have at the moment. It’s not down to only one upgrade or one part. It’s a multitude of upgrades to get to their level.”