Charles Leclerc admitted he was genuinely surprised by Ferrari’s outstanding performance in Sprint Qualifying at Silverstone, although the Monegasque driver also acknowledged that Lewis Hamilton’s pole position highlighted an area where he still feels he is missing confidence with the SF-26.
For Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton’s Sprint pole can be viewed from two very different perspectives. On one hand, it represents an outstanding result that exceeded virtually all expectations heading into the British Grand Prix weekend. On the other, Charles Leclerc was left frustrated after once again struggling to find the level of confidence he enjoyed with last year’s car, making it much harder to consistently extract the maximum performance from the SF-26.
Ferrari’s pace exceeded every expectation
There was a clear sense of surprise in Charles Leclerc’s comments after Sprint Qualifying at Silverstone, where Ferrari unexpectedly emerged as the fastest team.
Only 24 hours earlier, both Ferrari drivers had expected the British Grand Prix to be one of the most difficult events on the calendar for the SF-26. Silverstone’s long straights and high-speed layout were widely expected to expose Ferrari’s remaining power unit deficit, especially on a circuit offering relatively few opportunities for energy recovery.
Just before the start of the weekend, the FIA also reduced the amount of recoverable energy per lap by 1 MJ, forcing teams to revise their simulations and energy management strategies. Even with Ferrari’s strong aerodynamic package—well suited to Silverstone’s famous high-speed corners—very few expected the Scuderia to challenge for Sprint pole.
That surprise was shared by both Ferrari drivers. Lewis Hamilton admitted he had anticipated losing around six tenths of a second on the straights compared to his rivals, only to discover that the deficit was significantly smaller than expected. Although Ferrari’s power unit still cannot match the performance levels seen under the previous generation of Formula 1 regulations, the latest upgrades appear to have delivered a meaningful step forward.
Charles Leclerc echoed those sentiments after the session.
“We’re extremely surprised, I think, that Lewis managed to take pole today. Overall, we expected the gap to the cars ahead to be much bigger, so this is a really important step forward. As a team, we’re genuinely surprised to be this competitive at a circuit like Silverstone.”
Charles Leclerc still searching for confidence in the SF-26
Despite Ferrari’s encouraging performance, Charles Leclerc admitted there was another aspect of Friday that surprised him—this time for the wrong reasons.
The three-tenths separating him from Lewis Hamilton reinforced a trend that has become increasingly apparent over recent race weekends. While nobody doubts Lewis Hamilton’s exceptional record at Silverstone or his ability to deliver extraordinary performances at his home circuit, Charles Leclerc believes the gap is also linked to his own difficulty in fully adapting to the characteristics of Ferrari’s latest car.
According to the Monegasque driver, the issue is not necessarily a lack of outright speed. Instead, he explained that the SF-26 no longer gives him the same natural confidence that he enjoyed with its predecessor, making it much harder to consistently reach the limit every time he heads out on track.
There are sessions where everything comes together and he feels able to push with complete confidence. On other occasions, however, that connection with the car disappears, making it far more difficult to produce the final few hundredths of a second needed to compete for pole position.
“Looking at where things stand now, it’s clear that for some time I’ve realised I don’t have the same ease that I had with last year’s car. Even when I push and manage to put together a good lap, we’re talking about hundredths of a second. Lewis is able to extract 100% of the car’s potential much more often than I am, whereas I’m still struggling to do that consistently.”
The areas where Lewis Hamilton made the difference
Looking at the telemetry, Charles Leclerc lost most of his time during corner entry and through the middle phase of several turns, particularly Turn 6 and the final braking zone, where Lewis Hamilton proved significantly more effective.
The data further supports Charles Leclerc’s belief that what he is currently missing is the confidence to attack the corner entry with absolute commitment. That level of trust appears to have been found by Lewis Hamilton, who has quickly built an impressive connection with the SF-26 around one of his favourite circuits.
Charles Leclerc admitted that improving the overall feeling with the car has become his biggest priority.
“I need to work on everything, honestly, but the most important thing is finding the right feeling with this car. When you don’t have complete confidence in what the car is doing, it becomes extremely difficult to extract the lap time and to have the trust you need every qualifying session—in this case, on a Friday—to reach the absolute limit.
“I’m struggling to consistently reach my own 100%. In Q1 and Q2 I felt I was getting close, and I was actually quite confident going into Q3. But once Q3 started, I completely lost that connection with the car. I simply don’t feel it the way I should.”
Although Ferrari’s surprise Sprint pole confirmed that the Scuderia has made meaningful progress with the SF-26, Charles Leclerc’s comments suggest there is still work to do before he can exploit the car’s full potential as consistently as Lewis Hamilton. If Ferrari can combine its recent performance gains with a setup that restores Charles Leclerc’s confidence, the team could become an even stronger contender over the remainder of the 2026 Formula 1 season.
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