Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc exceeded all expectations over the 2025 F1 Mexico City GP weekend. The Monégasque driver secured his second consecutive podium finish, and seventh of the season, after holding off Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen at the final stages of the race. With this result, he also helped the team climb up to P2 in the Constructors’ Championship.
A weekend beyond expectations
Leclerc’s 2025 F1 Mexico City GP weekend delivered results which far-surpassed Ferrari’s initial expectations. Despite a podium finish at COTA, the Italian team did not anticipate replicating their success, believing the Austin result to be an overachievement in itself. During the post-race press conference, Leclerc addressed his surprising performance.
When asked how much satisfaction he had taken from his result, he replied, “Quite a bit. I mean, it’s been a very positive weekend. I think we did not expect to be replicating what we’ve done in Austin. We knew that in Austin we had done the perfect execution, but we also knew that on paper we maybe didn’t have the pace that McLaren or Red Bull had. And to be on the podium at that race was a surprise, but we managed to do that again and one step higher on the podium as well.”
He continued, “So it’s been a really strong weekend. I think, as we know already, in terms of pure performance from the car, it’s been quite long that we’ve been switching our minds to 2026, and so that helped us a little bit more into this last part of the season. But by doing perfect executed weekends, we managed to get two podiums in a row, which is a really nice feeling.“
A lucky finish under pressure
The closing stages of Leclerc’s Mexico City GP became increasingly tense as Verstappen rapidly closed in. With Verstappen lapping faster than Leclerc, the deployment of a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) in the final two laps proved vital for the Ferrari driver to maintain P2, especially with him struggling on the medium compound tyres.
“I was very happy to see the Safety Car coming out in the last two laps. I think without it, there was more chance of Max getting past than me staying in front,” Leclerc stated. “Especially with those Medium tyres, the feeling was just not there from the beginning to the end. I was definitely tempted by the two stops, but I don’t know.“
Despite the challenges that came from the medium tyres, Leclerc’s strategy commitment paid dividends in the end. The Ferrari driver’s determination to make the one-stop strategy work ultimately delivered his desired result.
“At the end, I just stuck to what I was on, which was the Medium tyre, and tried to make it work—and we did. It was close. We got a little bit lucky, but I’m proud we made it stick,” Leclerc concluded.
Surviving chaos at Turn 1
Leclerc’s chances for a podium finish were initially threatened by a tense opening lap which saw him going three-wide with teammate Lewis Hamilton and championship contender Max Verstappen.
“Yeah. I didn’t enjoy that at all,” Leclerc bluntly stated, when asked for his opinion about those opening moments. Being caught between Hamilton and Verstappen left Leclerc with limited options at the start. Leclerc’s Mexico City GP Turn 1 experience placed him in a vulnerable position with no control. The Ferrari driver could only hope both past champions would provide adequate racing room.
“I normally quite like fighting, but in this case, being in the middle of Lewis and Max it’s one of those kinds of situations where, as a driver, you cannot do much. Just pray that Max and Lewis will give me enough space just to make the corner. And I touched a little bit with Lewis. And then there was very poor grip on the outside, so I had to cut the corner. But luckily for the three of us, it had no consequences.“
The Championship battle ahead
While Ferrari did manage to regain P2 in the Constructors’ Championship, their position remains precarious, with only a single point separating them from close rival, Mercedes. With four rounds left before the final Championship order is decided, Leclerc acknowledged that it will be difficult for Ferrari to maintain P2.
“It’s going to be very, very tough. If I look back at the last two weekends, yes. If I look before these two weekends, not really,” he stated.
Perfect execution will be essential for Ferrari in the remaining races of the season, with a near-nonexistent margin for error separating three teams in the battle for the runner-up position.
“We just need to focus race by race and do the perfect execution just like we’ve done in the last two races. That pays off, obviously, as always, but it’s very difficult to be performing at this level all the time. But that is the standard that we need to target, and hopefully that will be enough to give us second in the Constructors.”
Maintaining this elevated performance level consistently presents a significant challenge for any Formula 1 team. Ferrari will need to replicate their recent form across the final four races. Leclerc’s Mexico City GP podium provides momentum heading into the season’s final stretch.
