At Ferrari, there is one man more than any other tasked with carrying the hopes and ambitions of the Prancing Horse: Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque driver is preparing to face a season of deep technical transformation with the declared dream of fighting for what remains his ultimate goal — winning the world championship with the Scuderia. In a lengthy interview with Autosprint, the SF-26 driver assessed the situation just days before the start of the new Formula 1 season, addressing the hottest topics of this crucial pre-season period.
Cautious predictions and the rivals’ “hide-and-seek” game
Leclerc’s journey at Ferrari has been one of steady growth, evolving from a young prospect in 2019 into the technical and emotional cornerstone of the team. “My ambition has always been to win the world championship with Scuderia Ferrari. It’s a very strong feeling and it will stay with me until we achieve it,” Charles Leclerc began. “At the start of my adventure in Maranello I was little more than a rookie. Today I see the team from a different perspective. I think I’ve matured, but there are still many things I want to improve, even if they are details. I constantly work on myself to raise my level.”
Despite the excitement surrounding the new regulatory cycle, Charles Leclerc refuses to make bold predictions, fully aware that winter testing often hides the true competitive order. “Ferrari’s year? It would be a dream, but it’s too early to make predictions, especially because we don’t know the potential of our rivals. We don’t know who is really leading at the moment. Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull already look well prepared and very competitive. I have the feeling that the four teams that recently fought for the championship are quite close, but Mercedes might have a slight advantage, and Red Bull also seems a little bit ahead.”
“2026 is an opportunity for the whole team”
The 2026 regulation reset represents the perfect blank sheet of paper to leave behind the shadows of 2025. For Charles Leclerc, this paradigm shift is not a leap into the unknown, but a golden opportunity. “2026 is not a risk, it’s an opportunity. There has been a huge amount of work to make sure we are ready for this new challenge. For that reason, I can’t wait to understand where we stand,” he explained. “That will be the starting point for everyone, and whoever begins with an advantage will gain a big benefit for the next four years. It’s never easy to close a gap to rivals who are constantly improving. Starting again from zero is positive because it creates an opportunity for the engineers to focus on a completely new project and think outside the patterns that had formed during the previous regulatory cycle. That’s super interesting and gives the technical staff room to express their creativity.”
Beyond the general philosophy, this also inevitably refers to the two technical innovations seen during testing: the wing positioned behind the exhaust and the new rear flap opening system, both clear signals of Ferrari’s aggressive approach to the new era.
Discussing his first impressions of the new car, Charles Leclerc confirmed a radical shift in performance characteristics and drivability, feeling a significant delta in every corner and especially under traction. “It’s too early to judge the new regulations. Let’s wait for the first races before discussing them. As for the differences, they are huge. There is less downforce, but in slow corners the car is much more agile and lighter. The power on corner exit is massive. There’s also the new wing management system, which gives us a nice boost on the straights. On the flip side, in high-speed corners the speed is slightly lower.”
The SF-26 and the importance of race starts
With cars that are more nervous and a more complex Power Unit management system, the human factor is set to become even more decisive in 2026. “The driver’s foot will matter straight away, and a driver’s mind will count more than before. I think the factors that make the difference won’t change and that the foot will always matter a lot. From what we’ve seen on track, there are no surprises. Some drivers are using lower gears to try to recharge the battery more, but that was widely expected.”
Charles Leclerc does not believe the regulation change will dramatically reshuffle the balance between experienced drivers and rookies. “No, I don’t think so, because a good driver has the duty to find performance anyway. The speed difference is not that huge and you still have to reach the limit of the car.”
Finally, he addressed a crucial aspect: race starts, which could significantly shake up the competitive order in Melbourne. Charles Leclerc explained that Ferrari had immediately understood how important this area would be under the new regulations, working on it from the earliest phases of the project. “From our side, it’s something we considered from the very beginning, from when we started focusing on these new regulations. The start doesn’t seem like a critical area for us.”
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