Charles Leclerc has revealed his struggles navigating what he described as a “difficult’ period following his victory at the Formula 1 British Grand Prix.
Leclerc ended a 624-day winless streak at Silverstone, taking a commanding victory that has major repercussions for this year’s title race.
The closing stages of Sunday’s race saw Leclerc dominate proceedings at the front, able to counter any move from Mercedes and Kimi Antonelli.
Mercedes opted to try and close the gap on track, prior to Antonelli’s dramatic late race issues caused by a wheel shield.
The victory could not have come at a more significant venue, with Silverstone’s history of producing dramatic championship swings adding extra weight to a result that pulls Leclerc back into contention after a difficult start to the campaign. Ferrari’s tifosi inside the circuit, who had made the trip in significant numbers, were treated to a rare sight of the Monegasque atop the podium on foreign soil.
In the post-qualifying press conference, Leclerc acknowledged the risk Antonelli posed, and the disappointment of the crowd at the race finishing behind the Safety Car.
“With Kimi, it would have been close,” he said. “He was very fast when he was coming towards me. It would have been very difficult to keep that first place.
“Then I heard he had a problem so I was like ‘OK, now I have a big gap and it should be straightforward’.
“Then with the Safety Car, some backmarkers had to pass us, so I did all the Safety Car time at 100kph, so my tyres were very cold.
“Not great for the fans around the track but in the helmet I was happy that there was not a restart to keep that win.”
The late Safety Car period proved to be the only real jeopardy in an otherwise comfortable afternoon for the Ferrari driver, with cold tyres presenting the sole obstacle standing between Leclerc and a return to the top step of the podium after such a lengthy drought.
Charles Leclerc admits to mental struggles
His winless streak extended back to 2024, and while Ferrari narrowly missed out on the Constructors’ Championship, the 2025 car proved uncompetitive.
The Monegasque then endured a challenging start to 2026, struggling for pace compared to teammate Lewis Hamilton, who has extracted the maximum performance from the SF-60.
Leclerc revealed that although he knew 2026 had the potential to be better, mental doubt kicked in as a result of a poor run of form that saw crashes and retirements.
“After Monaco, the feeling wasn’t there. I crashed in Q3, then in the race we had an issue and that ended our race.
“In Barcelona, the feeling was good but I crashed again. It was very difficult mentally.
“Austria wasn’t so great but here I we managed to put everything together and I hope I can keep that momentum going forward.”
The turnaround in fortunes will offer huge encouragement to Ferrari heading into the summer break, with Leclerc’s raw pace at Silverstone suggesting the SF-60 may finally be starting to suit his driving style. Whether this proves a genuine shift in form or simply a strong weekend at a favoured circuit will become clearer as the sport heads to Spa and the remaining rounds before the mid-season shutdown.
Discussion about this post