Charles Leclerc has expressed his frustration with Ferrari’s recurring wet-weather problems after finishing seventh in the 2026 Brazilian Grand Prix, suggesting that the team’s struggles in such conditions have become an all-too-familiar pattern over the past nine years. The Monegasque driver admitted that he was hardly surprised by the lack of competitiveness at Interlagos, although he also identified some encouraging signs in the race pace of Lewis Hamilton and during his own stint on Soft tyres.
The result represented another disappointing afternoon for the Maranello team at a circuit where recent visits have repeatedly fallen short of expectations. The latest setback also came against an already difficult backdrop, following the controversy surrounding the battle between Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in Mexico. Although there were no further clashes between the two Ferrari drivers in São Paulo, the team’s overall performance remained a major concern.
Charles Leclerc frustrated by Ferrari’s long-standing wet-weather weakness
Ferrari’s Brazilian Grand Prix difficulties have become a recurring source of frustration in recent seasons. At the end of the previous edition, president John Elkann had even publicly criticised the team, and the 2026 race did little to improve the mood after the tensions that had emerged between its drivers in Mexico.
At Interlagos, the main problem was no longer an internal confrontation but a lack of competitiveness. Both Ferrari drivers struggled in wet conditions, apart from Lewis Hamilton’s extraordinary opening lap, while the SF-26 also appeared short of the performance shown by the leading rivals when the track was dry.
For Charles Leclerc, who finished the race in seventh place, the outcome reinforced a familiar concern about Ferrari’s ability to perform when rain affects the circuit. Speaking to Sky Italia, the 29-year-old explained that, as he had already pointed out after qualifying, the team had rarely enjoyed favourable outcomes in wet conditions throughout the previous nine years.
“Unfortunately, as I also said after qualifying, over the past nine years, when we’ve had wet track conditions, there have been very few occasions when things have gone our way,” Charles Leclerc explained. “In fact, quite often, when we have these conditions, things go against us and we usually struggle as a team.”
His assessment reflected the disappointment of another difficult weekend, with Ferrari once again unable to match the strongest competitors consistently. Further developments and reactions involving the Monegasque can be followed in the Charles Leclerc Ferrari news section.
Seventh place and investigation after contact with Liam Lawson
Charles Leclerc’s seventh-place finish was also accompanied by an investigation from the race stewards following contact with Liam Lawson. The incident occurred at the exit of Turn 12, where the contact helped the Ferrari driver move ahead of the Racing Bulls car.
The episode added another element to an already frustrating Grand Prix for the Monegasque, although the central concern remained Ferrari’s overall lack of performance. Rather than producing another confrontation between the two drivers, the Brazilian race exposed difficulties affecting the team’s competitiveness in changing track conditions.
The contrast with the previous Grand Prix in Mexico was particularly notable. That race had been overshadowed by the tensions between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, whereas the disappointment in São Paulo centred primarily on the performance of the car.
Lewis Hamilton’s opening stint offers Ferrari a reason for optimism
Despite the disappointing result, Charles Leclerc was reluctant to dismiss everything about Ferrari’s Brazilian Grand Prix performance. In particular, he pointed to the encouraging pace demonstrated by Lewis Hamilton during the opening stint and suggested that analysing the difference between the two drivers could provide the team with useful information.
“Today, however, I think Lewis had very good pace, especially in the first stint, so I hope we can at least learn something by analysing this difference in pace,” the Ferrari driver explained.
Lewis Hamilton’s impressive opening lap had been one of the few highlights for the Scuderia in wet conditions. Although the team’s overall performance remained disappointing, Charles Leclerc believed that understanding why his team-mate had been more competitive during that phase could offer a useful starting point for further analysis.
Charles Leclerc defends Ferrari’s pace on Soft tyres in Brazil
The Monegasque also challenged the suggestion that Ferrari had been particularly uncompetitive once the circuit began drying. After switching to the Soft compound, Charles Leclerc felt the car had shown a more encouraging level of performance than the overall result might indicate.
“Then, when I switched to the Soft tyres, I don’t entirely agree that we were particularly slow. In fact, when we were on a dry track, I think we had the pace,” he explained.
Nevertheless, the Ferrari driver acknowledged that the circumstances of the stint had to be considered. His tyres were heavily worn, and the team had not made an additional stop when other competitors had done so. Even with that disadvantage, he maintained that the pace had not been particularly poor.
“Of course, our tyres were very worn and we didn’t stop like everyone else, but the pace wasn’t bad. Apart from those few laps, though, we weren’t competitive,” Charles Leclerc concluded.
The differences between compounds, tyre age and stint performance can be explored through the F1 tyre and stint analysis, which provides a way to compare race strategies and tyre usage.
Ferrari therefore leaves São Paulo with contrasting indications. The overall result was disappointing, and Charles Leclerc’s comments underline just how persistent the team’s problems in wet conditions have become. However, Lewis Hamilton’s early pace and the more encouraging performance on Soft tyres provide areas for the Maranello engineers to examine as they try to understand another difficult Brazilian Grand Prix.
Leave a Reply