Leclerc: Upgrade helped us get the podium

Early signs were not really encouraging for Ferrari, as Leclerc was far off the pace in Sprint Qualifying but closed up in Qualifying as Lewis Hamilton was knocked out in the first stage of both those sessions.

However, Leclerc, with a low downforce setup for the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix, managed to keep Max Verstappen at bay in the early stages of the race when conditions were still wet, but once it dried up, the Dutchman had no chance of denying the Monegasque a podium finish.

Leclerc said after the race: "I'm pleased with the steps forward we are making and I think we should all be proud because I know how much work went in to our upgrades from the whole team back home in Maranello.

"It definitely helped us to get the podium and to keep Max behind today, which was not easy because he was very close until the very end of the race.

"Once we were on slicks, I knew I just had to keep my head down and push for P3 to be ours, and it is, so I'm very happy we brought it home.

"Our upgrades brought what we expected and we need to keep learning how to maximise their potential. We will keep pushing and I hope we can put some more pressure on our competitors soon," he concluded.

Hamilton had a horrible weekend in Spa up until Sunday's race. He was eliminated in SQ1 of Sprint Qualifying and Q1 of Qualifying.

But Ferrari opted to change the seven-time Formula 1 champion's car's setup before the race, starting him from the pit lane, and from there he managed to finish seventh after a strong drive in the mixed conditions.

"Today’s race was a really positive step forward," Hamilton reflected. "The strategy and pit stop were executed perfectly, and the overnight changes we made to the setup really allowed me to get the most out of the car.

"I felt much more comfortable behind the wheel, and I’m pleased with how everything came together. It’s been a challenging weekend overall, so to finish on a high note gives me real confidence heading into Budapest.

"I want to thank everyone back at Maranello for their continued hard work and for bringing this upgrade—I’m looking forward to building on this momentum in the second half of the season," the Briton concluded.

Fred Vasseur, Ferrari Team Principal, summed up his team's weekend at Spa and gave his verdict on their latest upgrade package.

He said: "We introduced a new package this weekend that we had to fine-tune and understand, which is not always easy but I think overall, we did a good job.

"We had decent pace today [Sunday] on both sides of the garage and picked up good points. Now we must target getting closer to McLaren race by race.

"Charles did very well in defending from Max to get on the podium and Lewis produced a very strong drive, doing a great job overtaking so many cars in the first ten laps.

"We know what happened in quali was tough but at the end of the day, the pace was good today. We were aggressive on the strategy with the pit-stops and everything went well," Vasseur concluded.