Charles Leclerc is experiencing his best moment in the 2026 Formula 1 season, but believes he is still far from achieving what he considers ideal performance. After securing consecutive podiums, the Ferrari driver stated that he continues to face limitations in the Italian team’s car, and that his adaptation process to the current car is far from complete.
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The Monegasque acknowledged significant progress in recent races, but emphasized that he still needs to adjust his driving style to unlock the full potential of the SF-26. According to him, the pursuit of performance remains a work in progress.
Leclerc faced difficulties during the Monaco, Canada, and Spain rounds, especially related to brake behavior, as well as balance issues and steering sensitivity. The situation began to change on Friday of the British GP, when he identified important information in Ferrari’s data.
The discovery allowed the driver to better understand how he should adapt his driving style. The result was immediate, as he outperformed Lewis Hamilton in the Silverstone qualifying session and converted that good performance into a victory in front of the British crowd.
At the Belgian GP, on a circuit where Ferrari was considered less competitive due to its lower straight-line speed compared to Mercedes, Leclerc once again delivered a consistent performance. He finished second, less than two seconds behind Kimi Antonelli, after momentarily taking the lead thanks to a pit stop during the virtual safety car period.
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“I am confident in saying that I have taken a step forward. Am I at the level I want to perform at? Not yet. There are still things in the car that I need to adapt to. I can’t drive completely naturally, and that makes me lose time at certain points in the race,” Leclerc stated.
The driver emphasized that, despite the evolution, there are aspects that need to be improved so that he can maintain a higher level of performance: “There are still things I need to work on to be better. But it was certainly a step forward, and I’m happy about that,” he added.
Leclerc also highlighted that he intends to maintain a cautious approach for the rest of the season: “I will continue to think race by race because, with these cars, it is very difficult to be confident that if one weekend was good, the next one will be too. Everything depends on very small details. With the way you drive, it’s never guaranteed that you will have the same performance delivery from one lap to another, and that is perhaps the frustrating part of these cars,” the Monegasque concluded.
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