Charles Leclerc believes much of the battle for supremacy in F1 this year is predicated on “optimising” packages, not merely which team can out-upgrade its rivals.
The Monegasque driver used Red Bull to illustrate his point, underlining how the Milton Keynes-based team struggled over the opening rounds despite having looked strong at pre-season testing.
At the Miami Grand Prix, Ferrari delivered 11 updates to the SF-26 — more than any other team — but did not appear to enjoy the same step in performance as rivals McLaren and Red Bull.
When asked whether he had expected more, Leclerc explained why he feels the situation is more complex than what transpired in Florida.
“I think a lot about these cars is optimising,” the eight-time grand prix winner told media, including ApexF1News.
“Taking a step back on the performance of each team, I don’t fully believe that it’s all down to the upgrades that each team has brought, the step that we’ve seen.
“I really think that, for example, if we look at Red Bull, I think Red Bull was very strong during the winter test, and then there was these first three races, where as soon as you are not exactly optimised, you lose a lot of performance, and I feel like in Miami they did a massive step on that, on top of the upgrades they brought.
“So I think it’s very difficult to have a good picture of how much the upgrades are doing.”
Ferrari sits second in the constructors’ championship behind Mercedes, but is 70 points adrift of the Brackley-based team. McLaren, in third, is just 16 points adrift of the Scuderia.
Leclerc expects the competitive picture — and balance — to continue evolving across the rest of the campaign.
“One thing, for sure, is that every week we spend at the factory working on the new cars, there are big gains, and much bigger than in the past,” he said. “So it’s going to be super important to be on top of upgrades.”
As for whether Ferrari faltered with its tranche of developments in the Sunshine State, the 28-year-old rejected the idea, adding: “But yeah, whether we did a smaller step compared to the others, I don’t believe so.
“I just think that we are still in a moment of the season where teams are just figuring out how to maximise the whole system, which is very, very complex — and I think you will never arrive at 100 per cent optimisation with this kind of car, because there’s also the driving, which is variable, and will always be, so that will be tricky.”
