Charles Leclerc believes Ferrari’s disappointing qualifying performance ultimately prevented him from achieving a stronger result at the 2026 F1 Dutch GP, despite also questioning some of the team’s strategic decisions during Sunday’s race.
The Monegasque started the Grand Prix from sixth alongside teammate Lewis Hamilton on the third row. Leclerc made an impressive start and climbed to fourth before the early red flag caused by Max Verstappen’s crash. However, Oscar Piastri passed him when the race resumed, dropping the Ferrari driver back to fifth.
Leclerc later reclaimed the position from Piastri and spent much of the race fighting the #63. Ferrari brought him in for his second scheduled stop three laps after George Russell, before a late Virtual Safety Car gave several drivers another opportunity to pit, including him. Leclerc eventually crossed the line fifth, one place behind Hamilton, as Russell held off both Ferraris to complete the podium.
Leclerc points to qualifying rather than finishing behind Hamilton
Although Leclerc had run ahead of Hamilton during the race at the 2026 F1 Dutch GP, the seven-time World Champion eventually finished fourth, one position ahead of his Ferrari teammate.
Asked whether he was unhappy to finish behind Hamilton after previously holding the advantage through the first two stints, Leclerc insisted the intra-team result did not concern him. Instead, he highlighted the timing of the Virtual Safety Car and Ferrari’s qualifying performance as more significant factors.
“Yeah I mean apart from Lewis [Hamilton] specifically which of course is one position more but for the team it doesn’t change anything. It’s not that I’m disappointed or feeling any kind of way for that. Just felt like the luck wasn’t really on our side today with the Virtual Safety Car timing, less then ideal timing for us but at the same time it is the way it is.
“I felt like before the break I had the luck a little bit by my side for two, three races [with VSCs], and sometimes you get to know the other side of the coin, which I did today. I think eventually we are losing today’s race, and a better result today, because of the bad qualifying yesterday, and that’s where our focus should be.”
No team orders as Hamilton closed
Hamilton began to close on Leclerc during the second stint as the Monegasque struggled with deg on the medium tyres having pitted earlier as well. Ferrari eventually brought Leclerc into the pits on lap 43 of the race at the 2026 F1 Dutch GP, while Hamilton continued his stint.
Despite the pressure from his teammate, Leclerc revealed that Ferrari never instructed him to give up the position.
“I didn’t have any message on that at the end of the day, I was focusing on my pace and trying to do the best I could do for my race. I had a very good first stint, I had to stop early to try and undercut the guys in front, and that’s a bit of a team game sometimes. You’ve got to put yourself a little bit at risk, especially in the first stint for that. Lewis was very strong in the second stint, but it’s the way it goes. Sometimes I’ll be frustrated, sometimes Lewis will be frustrated, but it’s the way it is.”
Leclerc questions timing of second Ferrari stop
Leclerc also raised questions over Ferrari’s pit stop strategy. His first stop came at the end of lap 21, when he pitted alongside Kimi Antonelli, Norris and Liam Lawson and switched to the medium compound.
However, it was Ferrari’s decision surrounding his second stop that concerned him most. Russell pitted on lap 40, while Leclerc stayed out for only another three laps before switching to hard tyres.
The Ferrari driver felt extending the stint could have created a larger tyre advantage over Russell for the closing stages, as Hamilton showed at the end.
“Yes, these are the kind of choices that we need to speak of. For me, the thing that I want to look at is more the second stop actually, where we were pushing George [Russell] to kind of stop. Once he stopped, yes Lewis was arriving, but two laps later I was requested to box. For me, it was very important to create a tyre delta to the Mercedes in order to come back strong at the end. We didn’t quite do that, so we need to look at why. “
Asked whether he would have been happy for Ferrari to swap the two cars and allow him to extend his stint, Leclerc added:
“I need to review the way the situation was looking, but I was happy to go longer.”
Leclerc surprised by timing of second pit stop
Leclerc expanded further on his second pit stop when asked about the radio exchange surrounding Ferrari’s decision to bring him in.
With Russell already in the pits, Leclerc believed Ferrari had achieved the situation it wanted.
He felt the team could have kept him out longer to build a significant tyre advantage for the closing stages, which could have potentially allowed both Ferraris to pass the Mercedes driver without VSCs.
“I was very surprised to box so early when we had done exactly what we wanted. George was pitting, so that was time for us to do five, ten laps longer to build a tyre delta and to come back at the end on George. Fortunately, two laps later I was told to box, which I did I think three laps later.”
There appeared to be some uncertainty over the timing of the stop, with Ferrari initially asking Leclerc to pit before changing the instruction, and then calling him in again on the next tour.
However, Leclerc said there had not been an extended discussion between himself and the pit wall over the decision.
“I don’t think there was much debate. At first I was asked to stop and then towards the end of the lap I was asked to stay on track, which I did. And the lap later I was asked to stop.”
