Following Charles Leclerc’s well-deserved win of Sunday’s 2026 F1 British GP, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said that the team never believed in a performance drop amid recent struggles and that regaining confidence was vital to the Monegasque’s comeback.
Charles Leclerc has experienced a challenging run of races lately, with back-to-back DNFs in Monaco and Barcelona putting him on the back foot. On top of that, the 28-year-old lost the feeling for the car, which he has been chasing to find again ever since. Meanwhile, Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton was thriving, scoring podiums and a commanding victory in Barcelona, which amplified the now 9-time race winner’s struggles. The contrasting results of the two Ferrari drivers led to questions about Leclerc’s form and perceived lack of pace.
Ferrari never believed in a performance drop
Despite Leclerc’s struggles, Ferrari never lost faith in its veteran driver, explained Fred Vasseur, during his print media session after the Monegasque’s 2026 F1 British GP win. Recalling the questions and narratives about his driver’s form, Vasseur noted that, for the team, it was clear the “performance” was there and that it was just a matter of “putting things together”.
“I was not fully aligned with the question that I had all the weekend and even last weekend. Because if you have a look, he was in the first row at Spielberg. He was consistently there.
“But for us, with data, we were not negative. What was tough for him was the lack of points, the lack of results. He had a reliability issue in Barcelona. He had a poor start yesterday.
“It means that you are not putting things together, and the others are scoring points. You have the feeling that you are losing a little bit the pace of this.
“But in terms of performance, as I said in the press conference, I was still optimistic with Charles. Because we saw that in the data that he was there. He was always there on the laps.
“It’s paying off today. Today or this weekend.”
Vasseur believes 2026 F1 British GP win a confidence boost for Leclerc
Prior to and in the days leading up to the 2026 F1 British GP, Leclerc had been vocal about his struggles to build confidence in the SF-26. Vasseur thus believes that the victory helped “boost” his driver’s confidence.
“I think the result of today is the best boost of the confidence that he can have at first.”
After suffering from a brake failure, while running in P3 at the Monaco GP, Leclerc opted to switch from Brembo disks to CI (Carbon Industrie) disks, used by teammate Lewis Hamilton since Japan, for Barcelona. The switch meant that Leclerc had to adapt to new sensations and different brake feedback, which, along with Ferrari introducing new upgrades and unfortunate set-up choices, contributed to Leclerc lacking confidence. Vasseur thus chalks up Leclerc’s uncharacteristically lackluster performances to the lack of confidence in the car rather than a performance drop.
“Also, as we are developing the car from the beginning of the season, we need to re-adjust the set-up each time. I think that Charles had the change of brakes a couple of races ago.
“We have to reshape a little bit everything. But it was not just a matter of performance. Performance was there.
“I think it was more a matter of confidence. And this will help him massively today.”
Regaining confidence in the car was vital to Leclerc winning
Following the 2026 F1 British GP Sprint Race, Leclerc said that he would make adjustments suited to his driving style, which he hoped would improve his feeling with the car and thus his confidence. The adjustments worked, as Leclerc, after securing a front-row start for the British GP, confirmed that, unlike in Austria, where he had also stood on the front row, he had found the feeling he had been searching for with the car.
Questioned about what it was Leclerc found, Vasseur confirmed: “He found the confidence,” explaining that while an adjustment in set-up may not massively impact the lap time, but having confidence in the car would allow a driver to “push a bit more.”
“Each step of set-up is not making a proper difference in terms of lap time. But sometimes it’s giving them confidence to push a bit more.“
Finding a set-up that increased Leclerc’s comfort level was vital to unlocking the performance shown during the 2026 F1 British GP, particularly in the opening stint, where Leclerc showed incredible consistency in terms of lap times, and crowned off with a well-deserved victory from the Monegasque.
“For his pace, it’s crucial. Today, he was very consistent all over the race. If you have a look at the first 20 laps, he was one or two tenths.
“It was key for us to win the fight with him.”
