F1 | Zak Brown defends Leclerc: “His talent goes beyond the limits of Ferrari”

August 15, 2025– The 2025 season of Formula 1 continues to give emotions and twists and turns, but the last Hungary Grand Prix has turned on a fiery debate around Charles Leclerc and its relationship with pole position. With a statistics that made many nose turn up – only 5 wins out of 27 pole position – the Monegasque pilot ended up in the spotlight, but surprisingly it was Zak Brown, McLaren CEO, who took his defenses, throwing petrol on the fire of the controversy.

Leclerc under accusation: the dilemma of the not converted poles

The Hungarian weekend saw Leclerc conquer his first pole position of the 2025 season, a result that had rekindled the hopes of the Ferrari fans. However, the race ended with a bitter fourth place, reopening the discussion on the ability of the Monegasque to transform departures from the pole into victories. With a conversion rate of just 18.51%, many pointed their finger at Leclerc, accusing him of not up to the expectations in the race.

Yet Zak Brown offered a different perspective, dismantling criticism and shifting attention to Ferrari’s shortcomings. Speaking withRACERand taken fromFormula Passion, Brown said: “There is a statistics on Charles, of which I am a big fan, who says that he has not won many races starting from the pole. But I don’t think this is his defect. I think he reflects how extraordinary on the dry lap is, managing to bring a car to the top even when he does not have the rhythm of the race necessary.”

Brown’s defense: an exceptional talent hindered by the machine

Brown’s words not only defend Leclerc, but question the competitiveness of Ferrari SF-25. McLaren’s CEO underlined how Leclerc often manages to push the car beyond its limits during qualifying, but the lack of rhythm in the race penalizes it. “It is not a criticism of him, far from it. I think it is a huge talent,” added Brown, highlighting how Leclerc’s difficulties are more related to the car than to the pilot.

This defense arrives in a crucial moment for Ferrari, which after 14 out of 24 races is in second place in the manufacturers’ ranking, but with an abysmal detachment of 299 points from McLaren. Despite the arrival of Lewis Hamilton in Maranello, the team was unable to fill the gap with rivals, leaving Leclerc and the seven times world champion in fifth and sixth position in the drivers’ ranking.

Pole position and dramas: the weight of expectations on Leclerc

Leclerc’s 27 pole positions represent an impressive goal, but the fact that only five of these have turned into victories fueled the criticisms. His first pole dates back to the Bahrain 2019 Grand Prix, but the first pole victory came only to Spa in the same year. Since then, Leclerc has also won from pole in Italy (2019), Bahrain and Australia (2022) and Monaco (2024). However, reliability problems, lack of race rhythm and even strategic errors of Ferrari have often frustrated his possibilities.

In Hungary, Leclerc was furious with the team for controversial management of the tender, which included a change of engine mode and an increase in the pressure of the tires to avoid problems with the bottom of the car. These choices have compromised a possible victory, leaving the Monegasque visibly frustrated.

Brown and the media fiction: “portraits always end on the last page”

Brown did not limit himself to defending Leclerc, but also criticized the way the media build narratives around the pilots. Speaking of the past perception that Lando Norris was unable to win starting from the pole, Brown made a parallel with Leclerc: “When a narrative vanishes, nobody portrayed what has been said. It is as if the corrections always ended on the last page.”

This observation highlights a wider problem in the Formula 1 circus: the tendency to create sensationalistic stories that often ignore the context. Brown praised Norris for overturning the fiction with four victories in the last five games started from the pole, and has suggested that Leclerc deserves the same respect for his talent, despite Ferrari’s difficulties.

Leclerc’s future and Ferrari: a high voltage season

With only ten races left in the 2025 season, the pressure on Leclerc and Ferrari is at the stars. The struggle for the Piloti title sees Norris and teammate Oscar Plastri separated by only nine points, while Leclerc is linked by 133 points. Despite this, Brown remains optimistic on the Potential of Monegasco, including him among the favorites for title 2025 together with Hamilton, Verstappen, Russell, Norris and Plastri.

In the meantime, the relationship between Leclerc and Hamilton within Ferrari is generating further discussions. Voices of tensions between the two pilots, fueled by an alleged announcement by Hamilton, added further drama to the paddock. Although the details remain vague, it is clear that the 2025 season will be crucial for Leclerc’s future with the team.

Conclusion: Leclerc, a talent looking for redemption

Zak Brown has silenced the criticisms on Charles Leclerc, underlining that his talent is undeniable and that his difficulties reflect the limits of Ferrari more than a lack of skill. With the season that starts towards its final phase, all the eyes are focused on Monegasque: will it be able to get rid of the chains imposed by its car and demonstrate its value? One thing is certain: the drama in Formula 1 has just begun, and Leclerc will be at the center of the scene.