Ferrari’s 2026 advantage? Charles Leclerc confident in SF-26 race starts after Bahrain testing. Charles Leclerc gives his first impressions from Bahrain testing.

During the press conference on Day 5 of official Bahrain testing, Charles Leclerc offered his first assessment of Ferrari’s preparation ahead of the 2026 season opener, touching on some of the hottest topics of the new Formula 1 season—from uncertainty over the true performance levels, to the challenges of overtaking under the new regulations, changes in starting procedures, and the ongoing debate about increasing Sprint weekends.

Leclerc: “Hard to gauge performance. We’re strong at starts, overtaking will be tricky”

The Monegasque driver expressed satisfaction with the first days of testing but emphasized that it is still too early to have a clear picture of where teams stand on track ahead of the Melbourne grid. “I think it’s too early to say anything right now. Everyone is hiding their performance and trying to suggest that another team is faster, so I’m not really sure where we are. But so far we’ve had three relatively trouble-free days. We tested most of what we wanted, so I think it’s excellent preparation for the first race. As for performance, we’ll need to wait and see the first qualifying sessions.”

This year, overtaking is a central topic. Following the new regulations, a chasing driver can no longer rely on the traditional advantage of reduced aerodynamic drag by opening the rear wing, though they do gain extra power at high speeds. Despite this, Charles Leclerc remains cautious: “From the few situations where I tried to overtake, it was very difficult. So I expect it will be a real challenge this year.”

On the new starting procedure

The FIA is testing a new starting procedure with a blue light panel flashing for 5–10 seconds before the five red lights. This allows drivers further back to spin the turbo to optimal revs (up to 150,000rpm as per regulations) to minimize turbo lag, especially now that the MGU-H is gone. In this morning’s session, Lewis Hamilton and Ollie Bearman showed excellent starts, whereas Russell had significant wheel spin and Norris failed to launch properly. Charles Leclerc believes Ferrari is in a strong position in this regard:

“The start is a very important moment in the race and is something we’ve considered carefully with the new regulations to be prepared. It’s still complicated, as I think it is for everyone. Perhaps we’re slightly better off here, and I’m happy about that because in Australia, as always, many positions can be gained or lost depending on your start. This year, it will be especially tricky, but if I had to say, I think we should be among the best on the grid.”

Leclerc on Sprint weekends: “Six is already enough”

Recently, the F1 Commission has discussed increasing Sprint weekends from six to twelve in 2027. While team principal Frédéric Vasseur expressed support for a potential change, Leclerc disagreed: “I actually like Sprint weekends a lot, but I still think they should be a minority of races. Making them the standard format in the future, if that’s the plan, wouldn’t be the right choice, at least for me. But I’ll race and adapt. I think six is probably the ideal compromise.”

Charles Leclerc therefore believes Ferrari is well-prepared for the technical challenges of the 2026 Formula 1 season, particularly regarding race starts, though he warns that overtaking will become significantly more difficult under the new regulations and remains opposed to doubling the number of F1 Sprint weekends.