We have just entered the month of June, which means there are now only six months left until the end of the 2025 Formula 1 season—or a little less. The regulatory change is approaching, and in addition to the power units, which have already started running on test benches in recent weeks, teams have begun to test the characteristics of the 2026 cars in simulators.
At this stage, drivers are not particularly focused on the pure performance of the new cars. It’s impossible for them to know exactly how strong the other teams will be. This leads them to concentrate more on their own driving sensations and on how quickly they can push the cars to their limits.
Unsettling feedback from Ferrari—Charles Leclerc doesn’t like the new cars
The feedback coming from Ferrari, however, is anything but reassuring. In fact, the decision by F1 to increase the contribution of electric power while dropping the MGU-H has led to a significant increase in weight—something that prevents drivers from driving the way they would like. Moreover, the removal of the motor generator unit that converted excess enthalpy energy has made the upcoming power units very different from the current ones, and driving style may even be affected.
In an interview with Vicky Piria and Davide Camicioli on ‘Sky Sport F1’ during the Monaco weekend, Charles Leclerc didn’t just give his opinion on the new cars—he outright condemned them: “They don’t convince me. I have very few doubts about that. If I do have any uncertainties, they’re definitely about what our potential on track will be. No one knows where they’ll stand compared to the others. That’s not the issue—we’re focusing solely on ourselves.”
“As for the cars, they won’t be very enjoyable to drive. They’re heavy, and even the power units have been designed according to principles that make them really quite strange. Things evolve quickly in F1, and we’ll wait for the judgment of the track, but for now, I can only say I don’t like them,” the Monegasque driver concluded.
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