Charles Leclerc admits Ferrari is lagging behind Mercedes but doesn’t count his team out to put the Silver Arrows in a “difficult position” in Formula 1 this season.
The German marque has started running clear of its rivals after yet another dominant performance at the Shanghai International Circuit, last weekend.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli bagged his maiden F1 win whilst George Russell slotted home behind to secure the Silver Arrows’ second consecutive 1-2 of the 2026 campaign.
The Monegasque, who abandoned the pursuit of victory against Mercedes at China owing to their blistering pace, believes that the eight-time Constructors’ Champions have finally let its W17 loose.
Leclerc reckons Mercedes to be at least five-tenths quicker than the SF-26 in race trim.
“I’m not going to say I was waiting for that, because I was hoping that we would never see these days, but I feel like, after testing, there were things that were just not stacking up,” he told media including Motorsport Week when asked if Mercedes had been hiding the true extent of its competitiveness up until the 56-lap race at Shanghai.
“In the race, I didn’t understand why we were so close in Australia, why we were so close in the sprint. I guess now, it’s a little bit more in line.”
Leclerc vows to put Mercedes in a “difficult position” in 2026
As things stand, the iconic Italian marque seem like the only ones up to the task of thwarting Mercedes’ apparent reign of dominance.
At Melbourne, Leclerc was a thorn in the side of Russell, trading the race lead multiple times, before finally relinquishing it.
China was no different with both Leclerc and team-mate Lewis Hamilton making Mercedes’ evenings tricky.
Looking forward to the remainder of the season, Leclerc insisted that Ferrari will not let the Brackley-based team go scot-free.
Instead, with upgrades for the SF-26 in the pipeline, the Monegasque is hopeful Ferrari can catch Mercedes up.
“But that doesn’t mean we cannot put them under pressure and into a difficult situation, because with the fighting of those cars, it can be quite interesting,” Leclerc continued.
“There are things in the pipeline. How much this is going to make a difference on the gap to Mercedes, I don’t know.”
With April now slated to go race-free owing to cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GPs, Ferrari can launch a concerted developmental push to bring the SF-26 up to parity with the W17 from the Miami GP onwards.
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