Charles Leclerc has praised Ferrari’s “aggressive” upgrade strategy, reiterating his belief in the Scuderia’s philosophy as the second half of the Formula 1 season ramps up.
Ferrari has endured a mixed bag so far in 2026, claiming two victories, with Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton taking one victory each in the first half of the season.
The early challenger to Mercedes, Ferrari, has seen its pace drop off in recent races, though the Dutch Grand Prix showed signs of improvement.
Hamilton and Leclerc finished fifth and sixth on Sunday, although still some 16 seconds behind winners Lando Norris and McLaren.
Leclerc has reiterated his belief in Ferrari’s upgrade approach, revealing details on where the Scuderia continues to target improvement.
“There is a very clear development programme, and there are still many things that we want to improve,” Leclerc said to media, including Motorsport Week.
“It is very clear what the main limitations from the first part of the season are. The engine and power that we have at the moment compared to Mercedes and Red Bull is where we are lacking the most, and that is where our focus is.
“There’s an engine, and a chassis and aero teams, but the programme is set, and we know where we want to go, and that is a good thing. I don’t think we’ve had particularly bad surprises in the first half of the season, which with the previous generation of car, with it touching the ground, was difficult.
“Sometimes, you wouldn’t get what you had in a wind-tunnel, and we don’t really have that this year, and that is very positive for the development of future things we want to bring to the car.
Charles Leclerc aware of “big difference” of upgrades
Leclerc praised his team’s approach and its impact, believing Ferrari is already beginning to see the impact on track.
“It’s very impressive. We’ve had a very aggressive approach this year compared to others. I believe first in terms of innovation, and I think this is a very positive sign to see that shows that we are innovating and getting out of our way to try and find solutions around the regulations.
“And second, the aggressive, the very aggressive plan of bringing upgrades. I think production has done an incredible job for that first half of the season to work flat out in order for us to receive the parts as early as possible.
“It’s making a lot of difference in a year like this where we are so early in the development, and every upgrade you bring makes such a big difference, so we’ll continue pushing like that for that second part of the season.”
Leclerc has once again highlighted the dramatic gains that can be made this year from upgrades. Having fallen behind the top teams, Leclerc will be hoping that Ferrari”s next batch can propel him back to the front of the grid.
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