Leclerc says Ferrari can win Mexico City, but ‘we’ve got to be perfect’ in qualifying

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

Charles Leclerc says Ferrari have the potential to win the Mexico City Grand Prix, but the Monegasque driver warned that the team “got to be perfect” if it is to beat Mercedes and Red Bull on Sunday. Speaking during Thursday’s media day in Mexico City, Leclerc pointed to Ferrari’s improving momentum over recent rounds while acknowledging the gap that still remains relative to the leading teams.

Leclerc enters the Mexico City weekend after two second-place finishes—Singapore and Austin—following earlier races that left Ferrari off the podium. He said the package has been progressing and that the team has “maximised our potential,” describing his overall feeling about the pace shown in recent outings as relatively positive.

Asked whether Ferrari are the favourites to win in Mexico City, Leclerc said he did not fully agree with that framing. Mercedes, he argued, remain the favourites “wherever we go,” while Red Bull are also “very strong recently.” Leclerc’s optimism, however, hinges on Ferrari’s ability to execute consistently across the full weekend rather than relying on a single strong session.

“We have maximised our potential and I was relatively happy with the pace we’ve shown,” Leclerc said. He added that Ferrari’s chances rise if the team maximises everything it has, and he cited the key factor as optimisation of its overall race package. “The optimisation of our package is what eventually will make most difference,” he said, stressing that in modern Formula 1 it is difficult to ensure the car is operating in the correct performance window as qualifying approaches.

Leclerc also highlighted why qualifying has been a particular focus for Ferrari this season. He said Ferrari is sensitive when it falls outside the optimum window, and that the team has “paid a little bit the price” recently in Q3. He linked the issue to track conditions changing during the session, noting that problems have appeared especially as temperatures drop.

“We just struggle a bit more compared to the others to just keep everything in the right window,” Leclerc explained. He said this was the reason Ferrari lost a front-row position at Austin on the lap that “counted the most,” when the team was unable to keep the car in its ideal tyre operating range during qualifying.

Despite those challenges, Leclerc said the limitation is known and is already central to Ferrari’s work. He admitted that whether there is a short-term solution is not certain, but said the team will make sure it improves the process “coming Saturday here.” Leclerc enters the Mexico City weekend with one victory to his name this year, at the British Grand Prix in July, and he has not yet taken pole despite being widely regarded as one of F1’s strongest qualifiers.

With the Mexico City Grand Prix approaching, Leclerc’s message to Ferrari is clear: the team believes it has the speed to fight for victory, but only a perfectly executed qualifying and weekend strategy—centred on tyre and car-window management—will give it the edge against Mercedes and Red Bull.