Ask any Tifosi, and they’d tell you Charles Leclerc is Ferrari’s shot at regaining glory. The Monegasque debuted for the team in 2018, and the next year, he found his maiden Grand Prix victory in Belgium. When Spa wore the colors of Ferrari’s legendary red suit as thousands of supporters rejoiced in Charles’ race win, it was a moment that showed how fervently they wanted him to win the World Championship. However, that outcome has not yet arrived and the pressure is building on Leclerc. With a strong start to the current season, the expectations from Charles Leclerc grew higher.

At the first four Grands Prix of 2024, Charles and his teammate Carlos Sainz established themselves as top contenders for the fight against Red Bull. And Monaco saw Leclerc in a thunderous form as he bagged his win of te season at his home ground. However, the win in the principality was followed by a string of disappointments as Ferrari fell behind McLaren in the Championship table. Right now, the Scuderia is lagging behind the papaya army in the bout for the constructors’ cup by 21 points.

After a pole position in Monaco, Charles failed to even make it to Q3 in Qualifying in Canada. The Monegasque justified the drop in his performance by saying, “I found myself driving a setup in qualifying that I had never tried before, exposing myself to the risk of making mistakes.” Thus, Leclerc was part of a Ferrari experiment that blew up at the Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve. But was his boss happy that the Monegasque failed to deliver results as per his expectations?

In a recent interview, Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur defended both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz despite the shortcomings that have become obvious amongst the two drivers now. He said to Formula Passion, “After Monaco, we had a difficult sequence of weekends. In Canada, we were not in a bad position. What is clear is that the car has been a bit more difficult to drive in the last two weekends and also the level of expectations towards Charles is a bit higher. Team life is made up of ups and downs. But we are not trying to put the blame on anyone.”

So, it seems like Fred has nothing against Leclerc for the low scores. But he has already put in place a plan regarding Ferrari’s approach for next season–so, what is it?

Fred Vasseur wants to reset the gears for Ferrari’s 2025 campaign

2025 will see Charles Leclerc pair up with Lewis Hamilton as Fred Vasseur has achieved the impossible feat of luring the 7-time World Champion to his team. In order to make the dream results with his dream driver line-up, Vasseur wants to take a new approach that he knows will bring glory to Ferrari. Speaking on it, he said, “We’re trying to change the mentality a little bit: to win you have to take risks. It’s probably also the DNA of Red Bull. That’s where we have to take a step forward.”

There are also some rumors floating around about Ferrari’s 2025 racecar being more like McLaren and Red Bull’s challengers for the current season. If the rumored plans are the ones Vasseur’s team follows, Charles Leclerc will be driving a car with pull-rod front suspension for the first time. The new technology that the Maranello outfit plans to use from the next season will give them an aerodynamic advantage in the ground-effect era.

Thus, things are switching up at Ferrari and they are moving swiftly. As 11 races still remain on the roster, do you think the path back to P2 on the Championship will be easy for the Scuderia?