Charles Leclerc secured an important second place for Ferrari at the Belgian Grand Prix, delivering a stronger-than-expected result at Spa-Francorchamps on one of the most difficult circuits for the SF-26. After remaining close enough to Andrea Kimi Antonelli to believe victory was possible until the closing stages, Charles Leclerc now expects Ferrari to perform better in Hungary, although he does not consider the team favourites at the Hungaroring.
Qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps had exposed all the SF-26’s current weaknesses, but the race also highlighted the Ferrari’s strengths. Combined with a Charles Leclerc who appears to have rediscovered his best form, those qualities produced an excellent second place on what was probably one of Ferrari’s most challenging tracks of the season.
Charles Leclerc turns a difficult Spa weekend into a podium fight
Ferrari had expected to spend the Belgian Grand Prix weekend limiting the damage. Instead, the Scuderia found itself with an opportunity to fight for the podium and even challenge for victory. The well-timed Virtual Safety Car undoubtedly played an important role, but Ferrari’s race pace was still encouraging for the remainder of the season rather than only for the weekend at Spa.
That performance was particularly notable because teams faced a demanding MGU-K and energy-management challenge at Spa, while the circuit’s long flat-out sections placed additional emphasis on power-unit deployment and straight-line performance.
“We still had the weaknesses we expected to have this weekend. After that, we really did everything we could,” Charles Leclerc told Sky Sports after the race. “Honestly, the start was fun from inside my car. We had very strong deployment after Eau Rouge, and that allowed me to overtake both George Russell and Max Verstappen on the straight. It was nice.”
The strong launch phase allowed Charles Leclerc to make immediate progress against two of Ferrari’s leading rivals. It was a particularly effective use of the SF-26’s available energy after Eau Rouge, giving the Ferrari driver the momentum required to complete both overtakes on the Kemmel Straight.
Virtual Safety Car helps Ferrari, but race pace offers encouragement
Charles Leclerc acknowledged that Ferrari also benefited from fortunate timing when the Virtual Safety Car was activated. However, while he was happy to accept that advantage, he stressed that the team should not overlook the role luck played in the final result.
“Then we were also fortunate with the timing of the Virtual Safety Car. I’ll gladly take that luck! It’s the second weekend in a row… But we must not forget about that luck. We were struggling on the straights today, but the pace was not bad.”
Ferrari’s straight-line difficulties were consistent with the concerns the team carried into the weekend, when Charles Leclerc had already outlined Ferrari’s cautious expectations for Spa-Francorchamps. Even so, the SF-26 remained competitive enough through the rest of the lap to keep Charles Leclerc in the battle at the front.
Ferrari must investigate Charles Leclerc’s hard-tyre problem
Charles Leclerc also identified an issue Ferrari will need to analyse at Maranello. During a short phase of his stint on the hard tyres, the Monegasque struggled with the front end of the SF-26 and felt that the car was behaving unusually.
The problem lasted for approximately five or six laps before apparently disappearing, allowing Charles Leclerc to recover his competitive race pace and continue fighting Andrea Kimi Antonelli until the final stages.
“I need to analyse the stint on the hard tyres because there were five or six laps when I struggled with the front,” Charles Leclerc explained. “I don’t know whether I picked something up with the front of the car or whether I did something wrong during that phase, but the car felt strange. After that, the pace came back.”
It remains unclear whether the temporary loss of front-end performance was caused by debris, tyre behaviour, damage or something related to Charles Leclerc’s driving during that part of the race. Ferrari will therefore need to study the data before drawing a conclusion.
Charles Leclerc believed he could challenge Kimi Antonelli until the end
Andrea Kimi Antonelli eventually overtook Charles Leclerc, and the Ferrari driver initially expected the Mercedes to pull away comfortably. Instead, Charles Leclerc was able to remain within range by using the slipstream, keeping his hopes alive until the end of the race.
“I was also surprised after Kimi overtook me,” Charles Leclerc admitted. “I thought he would easily pull away, but with the slipstream I stayed there and believed until the end. We just didn’t have enough.”
Although Ferrari could not ultimately match Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s performance, Charles Leclerc’s ability to stay in contention showed that the deficit was manageable under race conditions. Ferrari maximised the opportunities created by the start, the Virtual Safety Car and its overall race execution, even though the SF-26 did not possess enough outright speed to reclaim the position.
Charles Leclerc expects Ferrari improvement in Hungary
With Spa-Francorchamps completed, Formula 1 immediately turns its attention towards the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest before the approaching summer break. Charles Leclerc believes the characteristics of the Hungaroring should suit the SF-26 better than Spa, but he is unwilling to declare Ferrari the team to beat.
The Hungaroring’s slower and more technical layout should theoretically reduce the impact of Ferrari’s straight-line limitations. However, Charles Leclerc pointed to Mercedes’ competitiveness on technical circuits as evidence that the Scuderia cannot assume it will hold an advantage.
“We know that the SF-26 will be better suited to Hungary than it was to Spa,” Charles Leclerc said. “However, we arrived in Monaco thinking we were the favourites, but Mercedes also showed that they have a great car on the more technical circuits. They will be there as well.”
“I don’t think Ferrari are the favourites. Mercedes have an extra step compared with us, but we will do everything possible to be in the right place at the right time if we have an opportunity to win.”
Ferrari therefore head to Budapest with legitimate reasons for optimism but without assuming that a more favourable circuit layout will automatically produce victory. As demonstrated by the team’s performance in Belgium, execution and the ability to exploit every opportunity could again prove decisive, particularly if Mercedes retain their underlying pace advantage.
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