After winning at Silverstone, Charles Leclerc came close to completing a remarkable double across two circuits that, on paper, were among the least favourable for Ferrari. The Monegasque driver also found himself leading during the second half of the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, but ultimately had to concede to the overwhelming straight-line performance of Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes.
Second place nevertheless represented an excellent result for Charles Leclerc and further evidence of the progress he has made in understanding Formula 1’s current generation of cars. However, despite exceeding Ferrari’s expectations for the Belgian Grand Prix, the SF-26 remains a genuine puzzle for both its drivers and the Maranello team.
Charles Leclerc fights for Belgian GP victory after Virtual Safety Car
After taking the lead following another Virtual Safety Car period, Charles Leclerc spent several laps believing he could deny Kimi Antonelli victory.
“I believed in the possibility of winning until the end,” Charles Leclerc admitted. “I had a good start, overtaking George Russell and Max Verstappen on the exit of Eau Rouge thanks to very good energy usage. The Virtual Safety Car put us back in contention for the victory, and it was really nice to be able to lead the race and fight for that position until the final laps, even though we had a little bit of luck.”
The start was particularly encouraging for Ferrari, whose work on hybrid assistance during race starts helped Charles Leclerc make effective use of the available electrical energy as he accelerated through Eau Rouge and onto the Kemmel Straight.
Charles Leclerc also survived a major scare during the opening phase of the race. On lap eight, he defended against Oscar Piastri at the end of the Kemmel Straight, pushing the Australian towards the outside before the two cars made contact.
“Lap eight was definitely too close,” Charles Leclerc admitted during the post-race press conference. “Fortunately, it had no consequences for either my race or his, so it is fine like that.”
Ferrari secures an unexpected haul of points at Spa
As had been the case at Silverstone, Ferrari completed the weekend in the Ardennes with a result considerably better than had been predicted beforehand. The outcome confirmed the team’s ability to maximise every strategic and on-track opportunity, even at venues that do not naturally suit the SF-26.
Second place reflected a solid Ferrari performance on a circuit that was expected to emphasise the straight-line strengths of its direct rivals. Although Spa exposed some of the advantages Ferrari had enjoyed at Silverstone, the team still managed to limit the damage impressively during what had been considered a potentially critical phase of the championship.
Charles Leclerc assessed the competitive order that emerged over the 44-lap race and compared Ferrari’s performance with the figures produced during its pre-event simulation work.
“Even on Thursday, I think we expected to be a long way behind, perhaps by four or five tenths,” he explained. “In qualifying, that proved to be true, but in the race we were a little bit closer than we thought we would be. So that was positive.”
“I think that on two tracks which, on paper, were quite negative for us, we won and finished second. We had a little bit of luck, but I still think it was a good job by the team. On two circuits that did not particularly suit our car, we scored good points.”
Ferrari’s race result therefore represented another valuable exercise in damage limitation. The SF-26 was unable to match the Mercedes over Spa’s long straights, but its overall balance and the team’s execution allowed Charles Leclerc to remain in contention for victory until the closing stages.
Why the Ferrari SF-26 still does not feel natural to Charles Leclerc
Despite Ferrari’s sequence of positive results, Charles Leclerc remains cautious. He is unwilling to suggest that he has completely decoded the SF-26 after the problems encountered during the opening part of the summer.
Further adjustments to his driving style are still required before he can manage every phase of a stint naturally and consistently, particularly when track conditions or the behaviour of the car change during a race.
Charles Leclerc explained that finding the limit is often influenced by variables that the driver cannot fully control.
“I am confident in saying that I have taken a step forward,” the Ferrari driver said. “Does that mean I am at the level at which I want to perform? Well, not yet. There are still things in the car that I have to drive around.”
“I cannot drive in a completely natural way, and that is slowing me down during certain parts of the race. There are therefore still things I need to work on to improve. But it was definitely a step forward, and I am happy about that.”
Although the progress made at Silverstone and Spa has been significant, Charles Leclerc stressed that the narrow operating window of the current cars makes it difficult to assume that strong performance at one circuit will automatically carry over to the next.
“I will continue with the approach of taking it one race at a time because, with these cars, it is very difficult to be certain that if one race weekend goes well, the next one will also go well,” he continued. “It depends on such small details.”
“With what you do through your driving, it is never guaranteed that you will receive the same power delivery from one lap to the next, and that is perhaps the frustrating part of these cars.”
Ferrari’s hybrid power-unit puzzle added to the Spa frustration
Hybrid-system management was one of the most heavily debated technical subjects of the Spa-Francorchamps weekend. Significant performance variations between sessions forced Ferrari’s engineers to make repeated software adjustments as they attempted to refine the SF-26’s energy deployment.
The challenge had already been increased by the FIA’s revised energy-management rules for Spa, which placed additional emphasis on MGU-K deployment and recovery around one of the longest and fastest circuits on the Formula 1 calendar.
Power-unit management proved particularly important during the close battles in the opening laps. Charles Leclerc, who finally resolved a power-unit issue during qualifying, explained why drivers can sometimes struggle to understand sudden changes in straight-line performance.
“These power units are so complex that there are some days when you are scratching your head, trying to understand why you are losing so much on the straights,” Charles Leclerc said. “That was a little bit the case for me on Friday and in FP3.”
“Then, in qualifying, things worked well again after slightly refining the details. It is simply very difficult, but it can also be very frustrating for a driver because, even when you are doing your best, there are things happening in the background that are constantly changing, and that is not very pleasant.”
Ferrari had arrived in Belgium hoping its latest hybrid-system gains could keep the SF-26 competitive at Spa. The final result confirmed that the car could fight near the front, but the weekend also highlighted how sensitive performance remains to software calibration, energy deployment and power delivery.
Charles Leclerc refuses to label Ferrari the Hungarian GP favourite
The next round at the Hungaroring is widely expected to suit the characteristics of the SF-26 more effectively. Budapest’s layout places less emphasis on prolonged straight-line performance, but Ferrari is refusing to become carried away by favourable predictions.
The team remains mindful of what happened in Monaco, where strong expectations before the weekend were not reflected by Ferrari’s eventual performance on track. Even Kimi Antonelli has predicted that Ferrari could be extremely strong at the Hungarian Grand Prix, but Charles Leclerc is not prepared to accept the favourite tag before practice begins.
“We might be the favourites, but we might also not be, and we will never know until we go there,” Charles Leclerc said. “I think it is very difficult to predict the performance level of every team.”
“I remember very well what the general feeling was before Monaco, and we arrived in Monaco and underperformed compared with what everybody thought we would do. So I think we need to be cautious.”
Rather than focusing on predictions, Charles Leclerc believes Ferrari must retain the approach that allowed the team to maximise its package at Silverstone and Spa.
“We simply need to do our homework, just as we do at every different circuit,” he concluded. “I think what we did particularly well during these last two weekends was to make absolutely sure that we maximised our package.”
“That is the mentality we should maintain for Budapest, without thinking about expectations.”
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