The relationship between Charles Leclerc and the Ferrari SF-26 has not fully clicked yet. The Monegasque driver himself acknowledged after Budapest that the car can be difficult to understand and inconsistent from one race stint to another, a problem that has prevented him from expressing his full potential with the same regularity seen during some of his strongest periods at Ferrari.
That assessment, however, requires context. Without the hydraulic failure at Barcelona-Catalunya and the chaotic restart in Monaco, Charles Leclerc would, even in the worst-case scenario, be only six points behind Lewis Hamilton in the Drivers’ Championship. He has the same number of victories as his teammate and only one fewer podium when Sprint races and Grands Prix are considered together.
So Charles Leclerc’s 2026 season is anything but disastrous. Yet it has unquestionably contained difficulties, and the more interesting question is where they come from. Is the problem simply that his driving style does not suit the SF-26, or is something deeper happening because of the characteristics of the new generation of Formula 1 cars?
To understand why Charles Leclerc has found the SF-26 difficult to exploit consistently, it is first necessary to examine what actually defines his driving style. The answer is more complicated than the familiar description of a driver who simply wants an extremely sharp front end.
Charles Leclerc’s driving style is more complex than a strong front end
A very responsive front axle and a car that reacts precisely on corner entry are often treated as Charles Leclerc’s defining preferences. That is partly true, but it does not tell the whole story. In reality, no Formula 1 driver deliberately asks for an inherently unbalanced car if a neutral one is available.
The ideal would be a machine that is precise when the driver turns in but remains stable on entry, rotates quickly around the apex and then feels firmly planted as the throttle is applied on exit. Apart from extremely rare circumstances, achieving all of those characteristics simultaneously is virtually impossible.
The strongest Formula 1 cars are generally those that excel in at least one of those areas without being seriously compromised in the others. When the strongest characteristic also matches the driver’s natural preferences, the combination can become particularly powerful.
Michael Schumacher and Max Verstappen provide two useful examples. Both have dismissed the idea that they constantly want an extraordinarily aggressive front end. Like other drivers, their preference is for the most neutral car possible. What separates them is their ability to deal with an extremely responsive front axle even when that creates a lively rear end.
Max Verstappen can control that behaviour through weight transfer, while Michael Schumacher was famously capable of managing it through his throttle inputs. Accounts from their respective teammates have often highlighted just how unusual their ability was to control cars with extremely sensitive front ends that reacted to the smallest input on corner entry.
The same discussion could be extended to champions like Lewis Hamilton, Ayrton Senna or Alain Prost. Each has had distinctive traits between corner entry and the middle of the turn, the phase of driving in which individual styles tend to differ most clearly.
Why Charles Leclerc can be described as a ‘juggler’ behind the wheel
When focusing specifically on Charles Leclerc and his Ferrari career, one word provides a useful summary of his technique: juggler.
Charles Leclerc generally brakes less late and often less aggressively than Lewis Hamilton. He is extremely comfortable with a responsive front end and actively prefers one, although not to the same extreme as Max Verstappen. At the same time, Charles Leclerc does not require the rear of the car to be as stable as Sebastian Vettel traditionally preferred, although he also begins to struggle when the rear moves excessively during corner entry.
The real secret of Charles Leclerc’s technique is his remarkable ability to manipulate the car between corner entry and the middle of the turn using several different tools. One of the most important is the throttle.
The result has similarities with Max Verstappen’s approach in terms of rotation speed and brake use, but without the same requirement for a mechanical set-up designed from the outset to create an extremely aggressive initial turn-in response.
Why Baku explains Charles Leclerc’s preferences so well
Baku offers one of the clearest examples of why describing Charles Leclerc simply as a driver who needs a sharp front end is misleading.
During the years when Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez were teammates at Red Bull, the Mexican frequently proved particularly competitive against the Dutchman in Azerbaijan. Baku is a classic street circuit filled with 90-degree corners, and on such tracks teams tend to move their set-ups towards understeer.
An excessively sharp front end combined with a nervous rear axle would be dangerous between the barriers, both on corner entry and on exit. In those conditions, Sergio Perez tended to thrive, while Max Verstappen lost some of the advantage provided by one of his greatest strengths: an exceptionally immediate turn-in response and highly sensitive front axle.
Yet Baku has historically been one of Charles Leclerc’s strongest circuits. That alone reinforces the point that a strong front end is only one ingredient in his driving style.
In Azerbaijan in 2018, Charles Leclerc scored the first points of his Formula 1 career. A major part of the improvement came when he realised that his Sauber could be manipulated more effectively if he accepted a small amount of understeer, something he had resisted during the opening three races of the season, when Marcus Ericsson had comfortably outperformed him.
Charles Leclerc therefore needs a particular combination of ingredients rather than one extreme characteristic. A strong but not excessive front end is the first. The other two major elements are how he uses the throttle and how he manages braking.
Throttle manipulation is one of Charles Leclerc’s biggest strengths
Before examining those areas, it is worth remembering that Charles Leclerc’s spectacular car-control ability was already clearly visible during his first Ferrari season. His 2019 Singapore pole position was one of the most striking demonstrations of that talent, and his qualifying peaks throughout that year were exceptional.
Race pace was initially more difficult. However, contrary to the idea that tyre management remained a long-term weakness, Charles Leclerc adapted his technique within a matter of months. By 2020, his tyre management had improved enormously, as demonstrated by his performances in the two Silverstone races with Ferrari running Monza-style wing configurations, as well as less frequently remembered results such as fourth place at Portimão.
The accelerator is perhaps the clearest indicator of how much confidence Charles Leclerc has in his car. A typical feature of the Monegasque driver’s telemetry is the constant manipulation of the chassis through throttle input.
When Charles Leclerc feels completely connected to the car, the throttle trace often barely reaches zero. He is continuously playing with the torque delivered to the rear wheels, using the accelerator to influence rotation before, through and immediately after the corner rather than treating the throttle simply as something to apply once the car has reached the exit.
Throughout his Ferrari career, periods when Charles Leclerc has been particularly active with his right foot have often coincided with some of his strongest form.
The 2022 and 2024 Ferrari seasons show the importance of throttle confidence
The first half of 2022 is an obvious example. Charles Leclerc remained involved in the World Championship battle until the period surrounding TD-39 despite poor strategic decisions and unreliable machinery.
Another example arrived during the second half of 2024. Charles Leclerc accumulated more points than anyone else during that phase of the season, expanded his advantage over Carlos Sainz from 11 points after Hungary to 66 by Abu Dhabi and helped keep Ferrari’s Constructors’ Championship ambitions alive, including through performances in the wet at Interlagos and in the desert conditions of Qatar.
During those periods, Charles Leclerc had a car that allowed him to manipulate its balance through repeated throttle inputs while cornering. Budapest in 2024 was particularly significant because that weekend coincided with the introduction of Ferrari’s interim floor designed to mitigate the problems created by the Barcelona upgrade package.
The 2023 season provides an even clearer illustration of what happens when that freedom disappears.
How Ferrari’s 2023 set-up change temporarily worked against Charles Leclerc
The SF-23 was often extremely strong over a qualifying lap but could be very difficult during races. By the summer, its behaviour had become particularly unpredictable.
To calm the car, Ferrari followed a direction developed around Carlos Sainz, Riccardo Adami and the engineering group working on the number 55 car. The idea was deliberately to introduce more understeer, accepting a reduction in outright potential in exchange for a more manageable platform.
It was a sensible and effective solution. The SF-23 performed strongly at circuits that suited those characteristics, particularly Monza and Singapore, where Ferrari eventually won after Red Bull’s difficulties.
At those events, and especially at Marina Bay, Charles Leclerc largely stopped manipulating the car with the throttle in his usual way. He did not have the confidence required to do so, partly because the front-end response had become comparatively lazy.
A new floor then arrived at Suzuka and restored more balance to the SF-23, including at the front axle. Charles Leclerc began using the throttle far more actively again. A 19-point championship deficit to Carlos Sainz became a six-point advantage for the Monegasque driver by Abu Dhabi despite his Austin disqualification and the Interlagos retirement caused by a power-steering failure.
The accelerator, therefore, is fundamental to Charles Leclerc’s technique between corner entry and mid-corner. But it works together with another important tool: braking.
Charles Leclerc also uses braking to manipulate Ferrari through the corner
Charles Leclerc does not have the heaviest left foot on the Formula 1 grid, but neither is he a driver who brakes particularly early or gently by Formula 1 standards. The initial bite of the brake pedal is not the defining part of his braking technique in the same way it can be for Lewis Hamilton.
Instead, Charles Leclerc treats braking as another mechanism for manipulating the car all the way towards the middle of the corner.
Between 2019 and 2026, the Monegasque driver benefited from the modulation offered by Brembo braking components and, particularly importantly, the engine braking characteristics of the Ferrari power unit.
Charles Leclerc has never raced in Formula 1 with anything other than a Ferrari engine, including during his Sauber season. As a result, he has naturally developed around the comparatively strong drag effect created by the Maranello V6. Lewis Hamilton, by contrast, repeatedly complained during 2025 about what he considered excessive engine braking after arriving from Mercedes.
Ferrari’s engine-braking philosophy goes back to Michael Schumacher
Ferrari’s preference for making significant use of engine braking has very deep roots. The philosophy can be traced as far back as Michael Schumacher’s first test with the Italian team.
John Barnard, Ferrari’s technical director at the time, later explained to Edd Straw of The Race that Michael Schumacher had been impressed by the engine braking generated by the V12 in the 412 T2.
The German driver appreciated having what was effectively an additional tool for managing the car under braking. Ferrari consequently began working on a seven-speed transmission designed to maximise the same effect with the V10 engine that would arrive for 1996.
Three generations of Ferrari champions later, Charles Leclerc has spent his entire career with access to that characteristic. Engine braking has therefore become part of the range of tools he uses to modulate deceleration and impose the rotation he wants as the car approaches the centre of the corner.
His overall technique can therefore be reduced to three fundamental ingredients. The first is a strong front axle, although not as extreme as the type Max Verstappen can manage. The second is a braking technique that uses several different tools to guide the car towards the apex. The third is extremely intricate throttle manipulation designed to keep influencing the rear axle even before full acceleration begins.
And that is where the 2026 Formula 1 power-unit and energy-management rules begin to create problems.
Why the 2026 power units restrict Charles Leclerc’s natural technique
In 2026, significant parts of Charles Leclerc’s natural driving style have become restricted. The SF-26 itself plays a role, but the new generation of Formula 1 power units appears to be an even greater factor.
These situations can affect any driver over the course of a career. Lewis Hamilton, for example, endured significant difficulties adapting to the ground-effect generation of Formula 1 machinery.
For Charles Leclerc, the central issue in 2026 appears to be the reduced freedom to use the accelerator as a tool for manipulating the car.
The complexities of energy management have become one of the defining characteristics of the new power units. A driver who repeatedly moves the throttle is inherently more difficult for a control system that rewards regularity and predictability.
The problem is particularly important for Charles Leclerc because his throttle use was never confined to corner exit. It influenced every phase of the turn: entry, apex and exit, with an especially strong effect during the transition between entry and mid-corner.
Some improvement has appeared since Silverstone. Set-up changes have given Charles Leclerc more opportunities to use his traditional technique, but corner entry remains problematic. That is the phase in which power-unit recharging is at its most extreme, and the Monegasque driver cannot use the throttle with the same freedom he enjoyed in 2025.
This broader restriction on improvisation is consistent with Charles Leclerc’s explanation of why the 2026 cars reward more predictable driver inputs, particularly when braking and energy recovery are closely interconnected.
Engine braking now serves energy recovery rather than only car balance
Engine braking has also undergone a fundamental transformation in 2026. Previously, it was more closely associated with the individual characteristics of a particular power unit, with Mercedes making very limited use of it compared with Ferrari.
Under the current rules, engine braking has become one of the pillars of energy recovery.
Drivers search for shorter gears under braking, while the electronic management of the power unit itself attempts to harvest as much energy as possible from the rotation of the V6, even during heavy braking zones.
That does not mean engine braking has become weaker. Instead, it has become less flexible as a vehicle-dynamics tool because its role is increasingly dictated by the needs of the power unit.
For Charles Leclerc, that effectively removes another element from the collection of tools he traditionally uses to manipulate the car on corner entry.
Ferrari’s braking system added another complication for Charles Leclerc
The changes have not been limited to engine braking. Ferrari’s brake-system design, combined with the extreme energy-recovery requirements of a power unit that still needs improvement and the characteristics of the Brembo materials, created difficulties for Charles Leclerc in Canada and Monaco.
In those conditions, the system had a tendency to become too cold. The consequences were significant both in terms of confidence and lost points, eventually pushing Charles Leclerc towards a switch to Carbon Industrie components.
The change was part of the broader Ferrari effort to address Charles Leclerc’s braking concerns, moving him towards the configuration already being used by Lewis Hamilton.
There has not generally been a dramatic adaptation problem. However, whenever braking has become particularly critical, the reduced familiarity has been more visible. Examples include qualifying in Hungary, the Budapest start, and the start and opening laps in Austria.
In those moments, Charles Leclerc inevitably suffered from having less experience with a braking material and configuration that had effectively been developed around the requirements of Lewis Hamilton. The differences between the two Ferrari brake configurations have therefore become another important part of understanding the 2026 adaptation process.
The SF-26 front end is the one area that naturally suits Charles Leclerc
Of the three main elements that define Charles Leclerc’s driving style, only one fits naturally with the SF-26: the strong front end.
That is also why the Monegasque driver has rarely complained about understeer during the season. The front axle gives him much of the precision he wants, but that advantage cannot fully compensate for the reduced flexibility of the throttle and braking tools he normally uses to manipulate the car.
The situation can therefore be summarised relatively simply. The front-end characteristic is being enhanced by the SF-26 and the 2026 regulations, while the other two key elements of Charles Leclerc’s technique are, for now, strongly restricted.
This helps explain why the driver seen during the second half of 2024 and through much of 2025 has appeared only intermittently during 2026. One example was the opening stint at Silverstone on the medium tyres, when Charles Leclerc was able to reproduce more of the behaviour traditionally associated with his best performances.
The progress seen around Silverstone is particularly relevant as Ferrari continues preparing further SF-26 developments for Zandvoort.
Why Lewis Hamilton can access SF-26 performance more naturally
For Charles Leclerc to return consistently to his highest level, further adaptation work will be required. One immediate objective is to reach the level of performance with the SF-26 as naturally and consistently as Lewis Hamilton has managed.
The comparison does not mean Charles Leclerc is incapable of extracting performance from the car. His results demonstrate otherwise. The issue is the amount of effort and adaptation required to reach that level when two of the three mechanisms that traditionally define his driving style are being constrained.
Lewis Hamilton arrived at Ferrari with his own adaptation requirements, but the characteristics of the current braking package in particular have increasingly moved towards a configuration familiar to the British driver. Charles Leclerc has therefore had to broaden his own approach rather than simply relying on the techniques that previously allowed him to shape the car around his preferences.
Super-clipping and Ferrari development could give Charles Leclerc more freedom
There are reasons to believe that the situation can improve, even if the traditional version of Charles Leclerc’s style cannot simply return unchanged.
A highly aggressive use of the accelerator is unlikely ever to be completely compatible with this generation of Formula 1 power units. However, future development
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