Heading into the Australian GP this weekend, Charles Leclerc has shared his thoughts on whether Ferrari can start the campaign off on the right foot, the characteristics of the new F1 cars, their decision to prioritise the development of the SF-26 early on last year, the pecking order in Melbourne, and the factor he expects to make the biggest difference in 2026.
F1 has ushered in its biggest regulation changes in decades, with the power unit, chassis, and aerodynamic rules witnessing a major overhaul. The sport has also introduced advanced sustainable fuels.
As eleven teams ventured into unfamiliar territory and craved more mileage to enrich their understanding of the 2026 cars, official pre-season testing grew from one to two events [both in Bahrain], preceded by a private shakedown week in Barcelona.
Following the behind-closed-doors shakedown in Barcelona that reportedly saw them clock up 444 laps, Ferrari completed 759 laps around the Bahrain International Circuit across six days of pre-season testing.
It was Leclerc who ended the second and final pre-season test in Bahrain with the fastest time of all. His best time of 1:31.992 came from a set of C4 tyres.
Leclerc confident about Ferrari’s preparations for the 2026 Australian GP
Speaking in a print media session ahead of the 2026 Australian GP, Charles Leclerc touched on Ferrari’s shortcomings from F1 pre-season testing in 2025 and elaborated on how they are confident about having taken the right steps this time around.
Unlike last year when they grappled with a new design philosophy and ride height issues, the 28-year-old proclaimed that they have gained a clear understanding of the SF-26 and are optimistic about extracting the car’s full potential at Albert Park. Nonetheless, he was also quick to point out that he is not yet certain where Ferrari will emerge in the pecking order.
“Yeah, I am. I think we did a good job during winter test.
“I think last year was definitely one of the points where we looked back and were like, ‘okay, we didn’t do a great job throughout this winter test’. We didn’t have many learnings that you can take and then we had to do kind of the learning in the first part of the season, which I think this year is not at all the case.
“This year we know everything that we’ve done on the car. We’ve taken clear conclusions and that will help us massively to start the season on the right foot and maximising our potential. Then where our potential is, it’s difficult to know for now.”
Leclerc on whether the new F1 cars are more forgiving
Given that the new cars are shorter, narrower, lighter, and generate a lot less downforce, they are also more prone to sliding. However, the flat floors should make them more drivable and easier to catch when they start to slide at high speed.
In terms of how enjoyable the 2026 cars are to drive and whether they are more forgiving than the machinery of the ground effect era, Charles Leclerc responded in a print media session held before the Australian GP, “I don’t think they are necessarily more forgiving.”
The eight-time race winner explained that while the new cars are more satisfying to navigate through the low-speed corners, the opposite is true in the case of the high-speed ones.
“They are lighter, so it depends. Slow-speed corners, actually, it’s pretty nice, if not better than last year.
“High-speed corners, we’ve got less downforce, so it’s a bit less enjoyable on that.”
Leclerc’s thoughts on the new power units ahead of 2026 Australian GP
With the 2026 F1 engines boasting a near 50-50 split between electric and internal combustion power, the degree of energy management required and its impact on driving styles over a single lap and race distance have been a major talking point for weeks.
Referring to the aforementioned concerns, Charles Leclerc made it clear heading into the Australian GP that their 2026 F1 challenger is not particularly pleasant to drive when it comes to harvesting and deployment of energy around a lap. Nevertheless, he added that he expects the teams to make big leaps and get on top of these limitations in a year from now.
“Then the power unit is very, very different, and as I said, I think it’s not the most enjoyable car I’ve had. But seeing the rate of progress of the last few months, honestly, I wouldn’t be so surprised that in a year’s time the picture would be very different to what we are having now.”
Leclerc weighs in on the negatives and positives of racing in 2026
Although he emphasised how challenging overtaking has been during the several rounds of F1 pre-season testing, Charles Leclerc admitted in the lead-up to the 2026 Australian GP that the prospect of drivers making the difference on the track excites him.
Reiterating that the SF-26 is not more pleasurable to drive than the cars of the last few seasons, the Monégasque also proclaimed that he revelled in discovering the limits of their new challenger.
“There’s still a lot of question marks and things that we will need to see, just like overtaking. It’s something that I’ve noticed straight away. As soon as we try to race with others, it’s been quite tough so far. So these are the things that we need to look at.
“But then, I find it very interesting that as a driver you need to think outside the box to maximise the performance.
“In terms of pure driving pleasure, it’s not the most enjoyable. But I, again, found enjoyment in how to reach maximum performance anyway outside the car.”
Did Ferrari make the right decision last year to prioritise the SF-26?
Ferrari halted the development of the SF-25 as early as April 2025 to redirect time and resources to this year’s project. While it’s still early days, the Italian outfit clearly fared well during the 2026 pre-season tests.
Asked if it has been a relief to have their sacrifices pay off, Charles Leclerc stated that he would prefer to wait a couple of races before making a definitive assessment. The Ferrari driver also recounted how the drawbacks of the SF-25 had quashed their championship hopes early on and prompted them to prioritise the development of the SF-26.
“Again, I would wait for two, three races to see if that works, but for sure it was [encouraging].
“I mean, when we saw where we were last year, we knew that the championship would not be a kind of target. Our main priority was still to do the best we could do with that car back then, but the priority also shifted quite quickly to this year’s car in order to try and gain whatever we could as early as possible.”
Leclerc on the pecking order at the F1 Australian GP and how the 2026 season will evolve
Admitting that he was rather content with the package Ferrari arrived with in Bahrain, Charles Leclerc claimed that the teams will have taken a big step forward since the end of testing and that they will introduce updated cars at the 2026 Australian GP. Furthermore, he remarked that the pecking order that emerged in Bahrain might completely transform in Melbourne and once again in Shanghai.
Additionally, Leclerc surmised that the ability to stay on top of in-season development will play a consequential role in shaping the championship battles this year.
“I feel quite satisfied with the package we had in Bahrain, but again, things are changing so quickly. Already from Bahrain Test 1 to Bahrain Test 2, teams have arrived with completely new cars and I have no doubt that it will be just the same here.
“So it might be that whatever we’ve seen in Bahrain is completely different here and is completely different in Race 2.
“Things will evolve very, very quickly and I strongly believe that a year like this one will be one not with the performance we’ll see in the first race, but it will be a bit of a development race and a development championship more than other years.
“Because the gains we are seeing week after week and the way the car is looking so differently from one test to the other really shows that this will eventually make the biggest difference.”
