Charles Leclerc believes Ferrari should place greater emphasis on qualifying pace than race performance at the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, with the Monegasque expecting overtaking opportunities to be limited at the new Madring circuit. After reassuring fans over his physical condition following his heavy Monza crash, Charles Leclerc explained why a strong grid position could be crucial to Ferrari’s chances this weekend.
With the discussions surrounding the events at Monza hopefully now behind the team, Ferrari can turn its full attention towards the Spanish Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have already discussed their Monza disagreement face to face, while Charles Leclerc has also confirmed that he is fit to race after his impact with the barriers at Parabolica. At Madring, however, he expects a relatively processional race in which qualifying could prove especially important.
Charles Leclerc: “I had quite a few checks and treatments”
Following the heavy accident at Parabolica, there had been concern that Charles Leclerc might not be able to take part in the Spanish Grand Prix because of the physical consequences of the impact with the barriers. His right eye had also caused concern after the Ferrari driver initially explained that his vision was impaired.
“On Monday I felt some stiffness and a bit of pain in my neck, but as far as my eyesight was concerned, the problem lasted for a very short time,” Charles Leclerc reassured. “Straight after I got out of the cockpit, I don’t know, maybe it wasn’t working properly, but after a few seconds everything was back to normal, so I wasn’t too worried about it. I knew it had been a violent impact and obviously that’s never good for the body, but I was able to see properly again almost immediately.”
Addressing the medical examinations that followed the accident and their results, Charles Leclerc added: “It was quite a heavy accident. It probably looked serious from the outside as well, but my feeling was that it was a strong impact. Sometimes an accident can look violent from the outside, while from the cockpit the perception is different. When I got out, I wasn’t feeling very well. In reality, it was just the shock. I had quite a few checks and treatments during the first two days, especially on my neck because it felt a little stiff, which I think is normal. But I’m fine now. All the examinations I’ve had came back positive.”
Charles Leclerc backs Ferrari’s ADUO2 progress despite Monza deficit
Turning to the performance of Ferrari’s ADUO2 power unit introduced at Monza, Charles Leclerc explained that its performance has to be judged in the context of the circuit on which it made its debut. The extreme power sensitivity of the Italian Grand Prix made the remaining deficit far more visible than it had been at Zandvoort.
“We weren’t expecting miracles from the power unit at Monza. Everyone always expects a huge performance step when you fit a new engine at Monza, but we were coming from Zandvoort, which isn’t a particularly power-sensitive track. At Monza, the impact of the power unit was enormous: we made a step forward, as expected, but we’re still behind.”
Charles Leclerc continued: “The difference in engine performance between Zandvoort and Monza is due to the circuit configuration, not a drop in performance from the engine itself. We have made progress, but we need to make further steps forward to reach 100% of the potential. We are aware of that, we are pushing as hard as possible and working in that direction.”
The Ferrari driver’s assessment follows detailed analysis of the ADUO2 upgrade and Ferrari’s remaining Monza power deficit. Madrid should provide a very different technical test, with the characteristics of the new circuit expected to place less emphasis on the extreme straight-line demands that exposed Ferrari in Italy.
Lewis Hamilton: “The test gives us no advantage, but we’ll have a good starting point”
Ferrari is the only Formula 1 team with even a small amount of previous experience at the new Madring circuit. During a filming day held in July, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were each able to complete around 100 kilometres, giving both drivers their first opportunity to experience the track before the inaugural Grand Prix weekend.
Lewis Hamilton, however, does not believe that previous running will provide Ferrari with any significant competitive advantage.
“I’d say almost none. It was dusty, super dusty, there was zero grip. You couldn’t change the car because it wasn’t a test, it was promotional filming. We weren’t even going full throttle through many of the corners, we had low power and low grip. The only thing is that I’ve seen which way the track goes, so in all honesty I don’t think it gives us any advantage.”
The restrictions of a Formula 1 filming day inevitably limited what Ferrari could learn, even though Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc had already driven the SF-26 at Madring before the official race weekend began.
Lewis Hamilton expects Ferrari to begin with a solid Madrid baseline
The Madrid circuit is nevertheless expected to be extremely demanding, with a wide variety of corner configurations. Asked about the SF-26’s prospects on such a track, Lewis Hamilton was reasonably optimistic about Ferrari’s starting position: “The guys do a great job with the simulations, so we often arrive with the car already in a good position. It’s very sensitive to changes, you have to take into account the wind, the track temperature, the grip increasing and the tyre temperatures, but I think we’ll have a good starting point.”
Lewis Hamilton added: “There are some similarities with the kerbs compared with places like Montreal, where Mercedes was very quick, but there were more straights. It’s an enormously challenging circuit. Of all the new tracks, this one and Jeddah are the two closest in terms of how difficult it is to find the right lines and master the car.”
The mixture of corner types is also one reason there is interest in whether the Ferrari SF-26 could be better suited to Madring than Monza. The new circuit presents a much broader technical challenge than the low-downforce configuration required at the Italian Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc says Madrid GP qualifying pace must be Ferrari’s priority
For Charles Leclerc, the biggest strategic consideration is already clear. He believes qualifying will carry unusual importance at Madring because moving forward during Sunday’s race could prove difficult: “Without a doubt, I think this is the type of weekend where it makes more sense to focus more on qualifying pace than race pace. I think it will be difficult to gain positions on Sunday, apart from at the start.”
Charles Leclerc therefore wants Ferrari to use practice primarily to ensure the SF-26 reaches qualifying with the right set-up, allowing the team to maximise its potential when Q3 arrives: “Our priority will therefore be to try to make the most of the practice sessions to ensure we have the right set-up in Q3 and are able to put together a good lap. The focus will therefore shift more towards qualifying. I don’t think the race will be particularly interesting from a strategic point of view and perhaps overtaking will be less frequent than at other circuits.”
That concern reflects the wider uncertainty surrounding Formula 1’s first competitive weekend at Madring, where drivers have already highlighted the difficulty of mastering the new Madrid circuit. With no previous Grand Prix data available, Friday practice will be particularly important as Ferrari works towards the qualifying-focused approach Charles Leclerc believes could define its weekend.
The complete timetable for practice, qualifying and Sunday’s race is available in the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix schedule and start times.
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