Las Vegas, Nevada - Charles Leclerc has voiced his frustration with Ferrari's persistent struggles in wet conditions, following a disappointing qualifying session for the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The Monegasque driver, who qualified ninth, admitted that the team has been grappling with wet weather performance since he joined.

"It's very frustrating because it's been probably my biggest strength in the junior categories coming up," Leclerc stated, highlighting the stark contrast between his past successes in the wet and his current difficulties with Ferrari. He added, "Unfortunately, since I've been at Ferrari, we are struggling massively in the wet".

The wet track at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit created a challenging qualifying environment, with Leclerc among those who struggled to find grip. He described the car as "very, very difficult to drive" in such conditions, further exacerbated by the cold temperatures and street track layout of the Las Vegas circuit. "Plus, here in Vegas on a street track, by night, cold conditions, wet conditions, everything is adding up for it to be a very difficult qualifying session. But, yeah, it's the way it is," Leclerc explained.

Leclerc's frustration was palpable over the team radio, where he exclaimed, "Oh my god, embarrassing. Fing embarrassing". He further lamented the lack of grip, saying, "there's like zero grip, zero fing grip".

The Ferrari driver acknowledged the team's efforts to address the issue, stating, "It's not a fault that we are not trying because we've been trying like crazy, but it just doesn't work". He also dismissed the notion that the problem was solely related to tyre warm-up, revealing that they had experimented with tyre warming strategies in the past without success. "I don't think it's only that because we've been trying things on the tyre warm-up as well in the past and it didn't work, so frustrating," said Leclerc.

When asked about the unpredictability of the car in wet conditions, Leclerc responded, "You always go in the car with the most neutral mind as possible, without thinking too much about what could go". However, he conceded that the team's efforts to understand the issue have often been met with disappointment. "We've had some few positive surprises sometimes, but for some reason whenever we thought we had understood something we were proved wrong the session after in the wet," Leclerc said.

The struggles in Las Vegas were not isolated to Leclerc, as his teammate Lewis Hamilton also had a difficult qualifying, finishing in 20th place. This marked Hamilton's first time qualifying last based on pure pace in his F1 career.

Looking ahead, Leclerc expressed his hope that the regulation changes in 2026 would provide a reset and improve Ferrari's competitiveness. With only two race weekends remaining after Las Vegas, he emphasized his desire to fight for wins, stating, "What I want to do is to be fighting for wins, so surely it's not a car I will miss".