Leclerc eyes first win of season as Ferrari chase Red Bull Ring glory

As the 2025 Formula One season reaches its halfway point, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc will be aiming to secure the team’s first win of the year and claim a much-needed 25 points.

The Monegasque racer has been the better of the two Ferrari drivers this season — understandably so, given it is Lewis Hamilton’s debut year with the Scuderia. Leclerc has placed himself in a strong position at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, qualifying P2 for Sunday’s main race.

Hamilton also looked sharp during practice and qualifying and will start from P4. Should all go according to plan, Ferrari could reverse their recent misfortunes and even secure a coveted double podium. Such a result would serve as a blow to local favourite Max Verstappen, widely regarded as the ‘King of the Ring’, who failed to impress in qualifying and will start from P7 — one place behind Racing Bulls teammate Liam Lawson.

Earlier in the week, Ferrari announced a series of upgrades to the SF-25, focused primarily on the car’s floor structure, in hopes of launching a strong second-half campaign. After 11 races, Ferrari trail championship leaders McLaren by 191 points.

Scuderia made aerodynamic refinements to the floor fences, bodywork, and edges — aimed at improving vortex shedding, a technique used to generate greater downforce through the creation of controlled swirling airflow behind the front floor of the car.

“The reshaped boat and tunnel expansion have been subsequently re-optimised, together with the floor edge loading and diffuser volume distribution, leading to an overall load gain across the car operating envelope,” Ferrari said of the changes.

The modifications appear to have had a positive impact, with Hamilton also showing increased pace in the Prancing Horse around Spielberg.

Leclerc, meanwhile, admitted earlier in the week that there was still work to do, but expressed confidence in Ferrari’s race pace. After locking in his front-row start, he underlined the importance of converting it into victory.

“I’m really happy. I did not expect it after yesterday. It was quite tough in FP2. This morning we made quite a lot of changes to the car and straight away we felt like it was in a better place.

“Second place is a good starting position — for once this year. Monaco was very specific. We’ll be starting around guys who have a much faster race car, but I hope we can be challenging for the win.

“This is only one part of the job — we need to finish the job tomorrow,” Leclerc said after qualifying on Saturday night.