Charles Leclerc has raised serious concerns about Ferrari’s performance following the 2026 Brazilian Grand Prix, revealing that he believed the SF-26 was losing approximately eight tenths of a second to Alpine on the straights at Interlagos. The scale of the perceived deficit surprised the Monegasque, who also questioned whether a power-unit issue might have contributed to the team’s difficulties.
Beyond the striking straight-line comparison, Leclerc highlighted another familiar weakness: Ferrari’s continuing struggles in challenging weather conditions. Speaking to Sky Sport F1 after a disappointing Sunday, the Ferrari driver acknowledged that the team had repeatedly encountered similar problems over several years, while also identifying some encouraging signs in Lewis Hamilton’s race performance.
Charles Leclerc reveals Ferrari’s eight-tenths deficit to Alpine
The most concerning part of Leclerc’s post-race assessment involved the SF-26’s performance on the straights. Comparing his experience with Alpine, he estimated that Ferrari had been losing around eight tenths of a second in those sections of the Interlagos circuit.
Leclerc described the difference as remarkable, particularly because he did not believe the Ferrari was performing especially badly through the corners. The contrast between its cornering behaviour and straight-line performance left him searching for an explanation.
The Monegasque admitted that he was unsure whether there had also been a problem with the engine. However, he emphasised that the amount of time being lost on the straights was exceptionally large.
His remarks raise important questions about where the SF-26 was struggling most during the Brazilian Grand Prix. A significant straight-line deficit can undermine a driver’s overall lap time even when the car remains reasonably competitive through the corners, making the difference particularly frustrating.
Ferrari’s straight-line performance can also be examined through the F1 Top Speed Comparison, which allows recorded speeds from different drivers and sessions to be compared across several circuit timing references.
Ferrari’s long-standing wet-weather weakness returns in Brazil
While the comparison with Alpine attracted particular attention, Leclerc was equally concerned about Ferrari’s performance in the difficult conditions encountered at Interlagos.
The Ferrari driver explained that the team had struggled to manage similar circumstances throughout much of the previous nine years. According to his assessment, the Scuderia had rarely found the right approach when faced with these conditions and had frequently ended up at a disadvantage.
Rather than treating Sunday’s difficulties as an isolated setback, Leclerc presented them as part of a recurring pattern. His comments suggest that the team’s problems in such conditions have remained a persistent source of frustration despite the changes made over successive seasons.
The Brazilian Grand Prix therefore exposed two different concerns: the familiar challenge of extracting performance in difficult weather and the unexpectedly large time loss that Leclerc experienced on the straights.
Lewis Hamilton’s early race pace offers Ferrari useful clues
Despite his overall disappointment, Leclerc identified a potentially useful positive in the performance of his Ferrari team-mate, Lewis Hamilton.
The Monegasque acknowledged that the seven-time world champion had shown encouraging pace during the opening stages of the Brazilian Grand Prix. He hoped that examining the difference between their performances could provide valuable information for understanding the car’s behaviour.
Leclerc also offered a more nuanced interpretation of Ferrari’s difficulties on the Soft tyres. He did not entirely agree with the suggestion that the team had lacked competitiveness throughout that phase of the race.
According to the Ferrari driver, the SF-26 had demonstrated sufficient pace when the circuit was dry. He pointed out that the tyres had become heavily worn and that Ferrari had not stopped when other competitors did, circumstances that influenced how the team’s performance developed.
However, he acknowledged that this competitive period was relatively brief. Outside those laps in dry conditions, Ferrari had generally struggled to produce the pace required.
Ferrari faces questions over inconsistent SF-26 performance
Leclerc’s Brazilian Grand Prix assessment underlined how significantly the SF-26’s competitiveness varied depending on the conditions and the part of the circuit being considered.
Through the corners, he felt the car had not been particularly poor. On the straights, however, he experienced an unexpectedly large disadvantage against Alpine. In dry conditions, Ferrari demonstrated some promising pace, but that performance did not extend consistently across the race.
These contrasts make the Brazilian Grand Prix an important reference point for the team’s technical evaluation. The possibility of an engine-related issue remained an open question in Leclerc’s own assessment, while the recurring difficulties in challenging conditions provided another area requiring attention.
Further developments concerning the car’s behaviour, performance limitations and upgrades can be followed through the site’s Ferrari technical analysis coverage.
For Charles Leclerc, the most striking conclusion from Interlagos was the scale of the apparent straight-line deficit. His estimate of eight tenths against Alpine, combined with the team’s familiar weather-related struggles, leaves Ferrari with several significant questions about the SF-26 following another difficult Grand Prix.
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