Jean Alesi stated that he has never seen Charles Leclerc face so many difficulties in Formula 1. For the former Ferrari driver, the Monegasque’s style is not in harmony with the behavior of the SF-26.
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Leclerc is going through a first half of the season marked by adaptation problems to the new car. Although he won at Silverstone, the driver suffered again at the Hungarian GP, where he started second, initially finished fifth, and inherited fourth position after a penalty was applied to Lewis Hamilton.
In the championship, Leclerc is in fourth place with 138 points. The difference to Hamilton, his teammate and vice-leader in the standings, is 31 points.
Alesi assessed that the below-standard performance previously shown by the Monegasque is linked to the lack of harmony with the current Ferrari car. “I have never seen Leclerc suffer so much before,” wrote the Frenchman in his column in the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
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The former driver added that he does not identify a natural combination between Leclerc’s characteristics and the SF-26. “I don’t think there is harmony between him and this car. I hope he can solve the problems he is facing,” he said.
Despite the victory achieved at the British GP, Leclerc has not yet been able to present the same level of performance consistently throughout 2026. The result in Hungary reinforced Alesi’s assessment, as the driver lost positions after starting the race on the front row.
The Frenchman’s analysis highlights one of Leclerc’s main challenges this season: adapting his driving to the car’s behavior and regaining the consistency necessary to get closer to Hamilton in the standings.
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