Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc heads into the 2026 F1 British GP looking to bounce back from a tough Sunday in Austria.
Having started the season quite well, beating Lewis Hamilton in Australia and Japan, he also had the edge throughout the Miami round until his final lap error.
Since then, however, things have been far tougher. He has scored only 16 points across the last four Grands Prix, with braking and car issues ending his days early at Monaco and Barcelona-Catalunya. A mistake of his own in Q3 of the second race mentioned did not help his confidence either.
In Austria last weekend, the 28-year-old qualified on the front row of the grid. Unfortunately for him, the race was very difficult with pace and tyre wear, falling to P8.
Although Barcelona-Catalunya winner and teammate Lewis Hamilton could only manage 5th on a tough day for Ferrari with tyre deg, he had better race speed. The Brit is 46 points clear in the intra-team battle.
Charles Leclerc with plenty of analysis done since Austria
Speaking in a print media session ahead of the 2026 F1 British GP, Charles Leclerc looked back at a difficult Austria, and his hopes to rediscover his best form.
“Yes, surely having a clean weekend helps in order to analyse all the data, every laps of the weekend.
“Obviously there was a very clear trend in Austria. We were quite strong on Saturday, not so strong on Sunday, which was different from the season so far, where normally we are actually quite strong in race and not so strong in qualifying.
“There was a lot of work put into that as a team, and a lot of work on my side as well to try and understand what I could have done better on the Sunday, because surely it was a difficult Sunday as a team, but probably even more so for me.
“At the end, the best thing I can do at the moment is to keep my head down, keep working as hard as I possibly can to try and understand what exactly doesn’t click since a few races.
“Obviously, the last few races have been difficult, but it was very clear for me where I was struggling. Three races ago, then we changed some specific things on the car.
“In Barcelona, that was a lot better, and the feeling in Barcelona, and also the pace I think was very strong.
“But in Austria, it’s true that on the Sunday I struggled more, so I put a lot of effort into it, and I understood a few things.
“Whether this is enough, it’s never enough, and I’ll keep working as hard as I can to try and get more performance.”
The brake change
Following his DNF because of brake problems in Monaco, as well as complaints in Canada about them following a software update in Miami, Charles Leclerc switched from Brembo to Carbone Industrie braking material ahead of the Barcelona-Catalunya GP. Ferrari had been testing Brembo on his car, with Lewis Hamilton using Carbone Industrie ones from Melbourne.
Asked if the change was a positive from recent races, the eight-time race winner took a more global view of the situation as Ferrari had brought significant upgrades to Barcelona-Catalunya.
“It wouldn’t be fair for me to go into the specifics of that, because there have been many changes in Barcelona. We arrived with a completely new package as a car.
“There are a few things that made me more comfortable in the car in Barcelona, for sure. I think it was a much more positive weekend in terms of pace and feeling.
“Unfortunately, the result on Sunday was known as we had a technical issue, and on Saturday it obviously cost me quite a bit to do the mistake that I’ve done in Q3.
“For this reason, it hasn’t been the weekend I wanted, but in terms of pace, looking back at it, I wouldn’t describe that weekend as a struggle. I think it was a strong weekend in terms of pace.
“But it’s true that in Austria it wasn’t a struggle until the Sunday, but on Sunday I definitely struggled. I think we pinpointed a few things that played a big role into the lack of performance on Sunday. We’ll change that.”
Leclerc expecting difficult races for Ferrari F1 at the 2026 British GP and Spa
The next two races come at Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps. With lots of long straights and full throttle areas, Ferrari’s lack of horsepower should be exposed.
Nonetheless, the Monegasque is vowing to do his best.
“It’s also fair to say that the next two races will be, I think, very tough for the team.
“The best thing I can do is to keep my head down and keep pushing no matter where we are fighting.”
Charles Leclerc heads into the 2026 F1 British GP on 79 points in P6, trailing championship leader Kimi Antonelli by 92.
