Ferrari finished the Sprint race at the Canadian Grand Prix in the same positions in which it started, fifth and sixth, although with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc swapping places by the chequered flag.
The British driver made an excellent start, gaining a position on Oscar Piastri and comfortably matching the McLaren pace during the opening half of the race. However, in the closing laps, the seven-time world champion began to struggle and was successfully attacked by the Australian at the final braking zone of the Montreal circuit with just two laps remaining. The incident also allowed Charles Leclerc to take advantage and move ahead of his Ferrari teammate.
Both Ferrari drivers agreed that the lack of straight-line speed compared to Mercedes-powered rivals remains the team’s biggest issue in the battle for podium positions.
Charles Leclerc: “Today I had better feelings”
After Friday’s qualifying session, Charles Leclerc had explained that he encountered several issues with brake management, which affected his performance. On Saturday, however, the Monegasque driver found a better feeling with the Ferrari SF-26.
“Yesterday was extremely difficult, while today the feeling was a little better. It’s not a revolution, and this will still be a slightly more complicated weekend for me, but we will do everything we can to try to be at least in the top three and then we’ll see tomorrow,” Charles Leclerc said.
Speaking further about the issue he experienced in qualifying, the Ferrari driver added: “It wasn’t just the brake balance yesterday, there were a few things that weren’t exactly where we wanted them to be. We didn’t have a real problem, but there was something with the brakes that was difficult to manage. Today it was better; it was mainly about rebuilding some confidence with the car.
“For the entire first part of the race, I tried to be cautious to avoid mistakes. Then I regained some confidence, and towards the end things improved. I hope it will be the same in qualifying because if that happens, I can have a much better feeling with this car.”
Starting sixth inevitably shaped Charles Leclerc’s Sprint race, especially given Ferrari’s difficulty in attacking cars that were faster on the straights: “The main problem is that overtaking was very difficult today,” Charles Leclerc confirmed. “I was behind Oscar, who was extremely fast on the straights, and that’s because I didn’t do a good qualifying lap yesterday. We’ll try to do better this afternoon.
“I think Lewis is very strong at this circuit, especially in qualifying, while in race pace I felt very good with the car. Qualifying will be difficult, but hopefully we can be up there because we paid the price mainly for starting sixth. Hopefully, with everything in the right place for qualifying, I can at least be in the top three, and that would allow us to fight with the cars ahead.”
Lewis Hamilton: “We lack the straight-line pace to compete with Mercedes-powered cars”
The frustration of losing two positions in the closing kilometres did not erase Lewis Hamilton’s satisfaction with his feeling in the Ferrari SF-26 this weekend. However, the British driver stressed just how significant Ferrari’s speed deficit is compared to Mercedes-powered rivals.
“We lack the straight-line pace to compete with the Mercedes. That’s clear, and we lose too much on the straights. We know that,” Lewis Hamilton said.
The direct fight against Mercedes and McLaren remains difficult, but Lewis Hamilton remains optimistic about Ferrari’s chances in qualifying for the Grand Prix, scheduled for 10 PM Central European time: “Apart from that, the car is great. In the corners, we are just as quick. They brought an upgrade here, and even so, we are right there. We just can’t get out of the corners fast enough to recover what we lose on the straights.
“It’s clear that I tried to hold position, but with a Mercedes-powered car behind you, it’s practically impossible. That said, we’re pushing well. I hope to have a really strong qualifying session. I feel good in the car, so hopefully we can put ourselves in a strong position for tomorrow.”
Lewis Hamilton was more brief when discussing the late double overtake incident: “Piastri came alongside me into the final corner and basically got past me, and because of that I lost the position to Charles as well.”
Ferrari’s performance in the Montreal Sprint race outlines a clear engineering roadmap for the Maranello technical department. While the SF-26 matches its primary rivals in cornering rotation and mechanical grip, its electronic harvesting and top-end aerodynamic deployment parameters leave it highly vulnerable on high-speed layouts. By identifying this straight-line deficit early in the weekend, both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are managing expectations while maximizing their local package strengths. If the Scuderia can secure a top-three starting slot during the main qualifying hour, their strong baseline race pace ensures they remain a potent threat for heavy podium points on Sunday.
