Charles Leclerc arrives at the Chinese Grand Prix after securing a podium finish in Australia and is now looking ahead to the challenge of racing against Mercedes, as Ferrari aims to reduce the performance gap.
The 2026 Formula 1 season opened positively for Leclerc, who claimed third place at the Australian Grand Prix, finishing behind the two Mercedes cars. This important result allowed Ferrari to start the season with a podium and valuable points for the championship standings.
The Monegasque driver had started from fourth on the grid after a qualifying session in which Ferrari showed a significant deficit compared to Mercedes, who immediately appeared as the benchmark for the weekend.
During the race, Charles Leclerc made his mark especially in the opening laps. At the start, he managed to take the lead of the race and engaged in an intense battle with George Russell in the early laps. As the race progressed, however, the Mercedes pace proved superior, and car #16 had to settle for third place, finishing ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton, partly due to Ferrari risking not pitting during the first Virtual Safety Car.
Leclerc: “We can recover”
With the first race of the season behind them, attention now turns to the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, where the weekend will be even more challenging due to the Sprint format. During the F1 TV media day, Charles Leclerc explained just how much behind-the-scenes work was needed to prepare for this new technical scenario.
“We’ve done an enormous amount of work behind the scenes to be ready for a weekend like this. Even for a normal race weekend, it takes a huge effort to prepare with such complex cars,” the Ferrari driver explained.
According to Charles Leclerc, the Sprint format makes preparation even more complicated for all teams. “In a Sprint weekend, the work is probably double because we have very few laps before we need to be already perfect for qualifying. It will be a huge challenge for everyone.”
Looking at the bigger picture
Charles Leclerc also reflected on the season as a whole, acknowledging the strength Mercedes displayed in the first round of the championship.
“I’ve been with this team for many years, and I’ve been waiting for the ‘year of the Horse’ since my very first year here. I hope this is the right one, but we have very strong competition. At the moment, I think Mercedes is quite ahead, but step by step I believe we can reach them.”
Charles Leclerc’s mention of the “Year of the Horse” carries a special weight as the circus returns to China, perfectly blending local symbolism with Ferrari’s iconic branding. While the Mercedes W17 currently holds the advantage in energy deployment, the Scuderia’s aggressive upgrade path—including the new “Macarena” wing—suggests that Maranello isn’t planning on staying in second place for long. As the first Sprint of the 2026 era looms, the focus is on perfecting the setup in just 60 minutes of practice. If Ferrari can bridge the gap in Shanghai, Charles Leclerc’s long-awaited “Year of the Horse” might finally gallop toward a world title. The hunt for the Silver Arrows is officially on.
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