Ferrari F1 star Charles Leclerc 'had enough' over Japanese Grand Prix nightmare

Charles Leclerc in China — Photo: © IMAGO

Japanese Grand Prix

Charles Leclerc 'had enough' over Japanese Grand Prix nightmare

The Japanese GP threw a spanner in Leclerc's race preparations

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Sunday 6 April 2025 18:54

Ferrari Formula 1 star Charles Leclerc had a quiet afternoon at the Japanese Grand Prix - but it was in stark contrast to his mood earlier in the weekend.

The Monegasque driver started and finished fourth at Suzuka, comfortably fending off a Mercedes challenge led by George Russell.

It was similar dramawise to the the first of Friday's practice sessions that saw Leclerc finish P3 behind Lando Norris and Russell after a relatively uneventful session.

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FP2 contrasted drastically with the first session, however, with constant drama, two on-track incidents and four red flags.

The drivers had barely begun their run plans when Jack Doohan smashed his Alpine into the barrier at Turn 1 at 185mph.

Two-time champion Fernando Alonso then found his Aston Martin beached in the gravel after catching his tyres on the grass and later, not one but two red flags were waved thanks to the grass at the track catching fire and spreading rapidly.

Leclerc despairs over Japanese GP conditions

The shock incidents left most teams on the grid with the nightmare scenario of having barely any decent long-run data from FP2 to take into Sunday's race, and with continued high winds during qualifying on Saturday, the threat of fires at the track persisted - although this threat had eased for the race, especially after overnight rain to dampen the grass on Saturday night.

One star who was left clearly frustrated by the chaotic practice sessions was Leclerc, who finished seventh in FP2 ahead of the weekend's competitive running.

The 27-year-old took to team radio as the session concluded, saying: "It's a nightmare, it's a nightmare. I've had enough of this session."

It just goes to show that even when the action does bring some excitement and entertainment to the audience, it can still be a pain in the proverbial to your world class racing driver.

Rather than nightmares though, Leclerc will be looking for desert dreams next weekend when the F1 circus makes its way to Bahrain for the fourth round of the world championship.

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Ferrari Lando Norris Charles Leclerc George Russell Aston Martin Fernando Alonso