Charles Leclerc has firmly rejected Isack Hadjar’s claim that Ferrari had the fastest car at the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix and that Max Verstappen would have won by an even greater margin behind the wheel of the SF-26. Speaking ahead of the United States Grand Prix in Austin, the Ferrari driver dismissed the comparison, arguing that nobody can accurately judge another team’s machinery from the outside and that extracting the maximum performance from each car is crucial when Formula 1’s competitive margins are so small.
The disagreement follows Charles Leclerc’s second-place finish at Marina Bay, where the Monegasque was unable to match Max Verstappen’s winning pace in the Red Bull RB22. Isack Hadjar, however, offered a very different interpretation of Ferrari’s performance during Thursday’s media activities in Austin.
Isack Hadjar claims Max Verstappen would have won by more in Ferrari
“I think if Max Verstappen had driven the Ferrari, he would have won the race by a bigger margin. That’s my opinion. In Singapore, I think Ferrari was the fastest car,” Isack Hadjar declared ahead of the United States Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver’s comments immediately raised questions about the relative competitiveness of Ferrari and Red Bull at Marina Bay. Charles Leclerc had finished second, but the SF-26 lacked the race pace of Max Verstappen’s RB22, making a better result unrealistic for the Monegasque on that occasion.
Interestingly, Max Verstappen himself disagreed with the premise of such comparisons. The four-time world champion, who won the previous race, argued that it was impossible to know exactly how competitive Ferrari’s car was from his position.
“It’s impossible for me right now to know or say how good a Ferrari is. That’s why these debates are nonsense,” Max Verstappen explained.
Charles Leclerc adopted a similar position, rejecting the idea that drivers can confidently predict what would happen if they exchanged cars.
Charles Leclerc rejects Isack Hadjar’s Ferrari comparison
“Well, first of all, I think it’s nonsense to start saying things like that. Isack has no idea what kind of car we’re driving, and I have no idea what kind of car he’s driving. He said things that don’t make sense,” Charles Leclerc responded.
The Ferrari driver stressed that Formula 1’s closely matched competitive field makes meaningful predictions particularly difficult. Rather than drawing simple conclusions about which team has the quickest car, he believes the way each team optimises its package can have an even greater influence on the final result.
“I think the competition is so close that it’s really very, very difficult for us to make predictions. Yes, of course, we have an idea of how we’re going to perform at this track, but when you’re talking about such small margins, everything really depends on optimising your package, and that has a much bigger influence than what we expect in terms of the cars.”
His response effectively dismissed further speculation about how Max Verstappen might have performed in the Ferrari at Singapore. The disagreement is particularly notable because the current competitive picture suggests that Red Bull has one of the strongest cars on the grid, potentially holding a narrow advantage even over Mercedes.
Charles Leclerc warns Mercedes could be ahead of everyone
Charles Leclerc also identified Mercedes as a potential major threat heading into the United States Grand Prix. Although the Brackley-based team has experienced difficulties in recent races, the Ferrari driver believes its underlying performance could still make it extremely difficult to beat if those problems are resolved.
“I think the only exception in the last few races has perhaps been Mercedes, who we expected to be further ahead than they actually were. If they can finally unlock the performance we had in mind for them over the last few races, then they’ll be ahead of everyone else. But otherwise, it’s going to be a very close race.”
His assessment suggests that the balance of power in Austin could depend heavily on which team manages to extract the greatest performance from its existing package. Red Bull has demonstrated strong competitiveness, while Mercedes remains a potential threat if it can recover the pace that Charles Leclerc believes it possesses.
Ferrari’s Austin upgrades could influence the battle at the front
For Ferrari, the immediate priority is making the most of the improvements introduced for the United States Grand Prix. The team has been working to strengthen the SF-26, and its Austin upgrade package arrives at an important moment in its efforts to reduce the gap to its rivals.
Charles Leclerc’s comments underline why simply comparing the theoretical performance of different cars is not enough. With such small differences separating the leading teams, optimising the available package can be decisive in determining the competitive order.
Attention now turns to the 2026 United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas, where Ferrari will hope its latest developments prove sufficiently effective to challenge for victory. Whether the improvements can bring the SF-26 back to the front remains to be seen, especially with Red Bull’s recent form and Mercedes’ potential to recover its performance.
Leave a Reply