Charles Leclerc reveals Ferrari battery issue at the start of the F1 Australian GP. Ferrari strong start in Australia hides technical concerns, says Leclerc.

Charles Leclerc reveals Ferrari experienced battery issues during the start of the Australian Grand Prix

The explosive launch made by Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton at the start of the Australian Grand Prix immediately thrilled Ferrari fans. The Scuderia, confirming the encouraging signs already seen during the Bahrain pre-season tests, once again demonstrated that it may possess a significant advantage compared to several of its rivals when the lights go out — an advantage that could even prove decisive in certain races during the Formula 1 season.

The Ferrari SF-26, thanks in part to a power unit specifically designed to address these situations, appears to suffer less from turbo lag and the battery charge issues that can occur at the end of the formation lap. This topic has been widely discussed in recent weeks and even prompted the FIA to introduce a new five-second “Pre-start” phase before the start lights are switched on.

Leclerc reveals there were problems at the start

Despite the positions gained during the chaotic opening moments of the race, Charles Leclerc later admitted that he experienced battery issues in his Ferrari during the start of the Australian Grand Prix.

“From the outside it probably looked like a perfect start, but I think for some reason we all had the same problem. It’s definitely something we need to review, because my battery was also very, very low for some reason. Probably a little more charged than the Mercedes cars, which helped me finish ahead of them, but it was still far from optimal.”

“I thought I would end up P8 or P9, but then I started and realized that everyone was having problems and I was the one with fewer problems, which in the end is what matters. However, there is a lot of room to improve these starts. It was very far from optimal, I think, for everyone. We expected a chaotic start and, on top of that, the lights went out really very quickly, so I think that surprised everyone and made the situation even more critical. So it was quite crazy,” said the Monegasque driver.

Charles Leclerc’s revelation that he feared a drop to P9 highlights just how fragile the 2026 power units remain during the high-stress launch phase. While Ferrari currently holds a competitive edge in managing energy deployment better than Mercedes at race starts, the “crazy” and rapid light sequence in Melbourne has put all teams on notice: in this new era, the race can be won or lost before the first corner depending on who manages their battery levels most effectively under pressure.