Charles Leclerc believes Ferrari can achieve 'huge gains' across its 2026 Formula 1 car, including the power unit, chassis, aerodynamics and tyre management. The Scuderia trails Mercedes, which has won the opening three grands prix this season. Leclerc stressed the need for improvements in every area to compete effectively.
Ferrari has positioned itself as Mercedes' primary challenger early in the season but could not stop the German team from securing front-row lockouts and victories in the first three races. The team acknowledges a power unit deficit compared to Mercedes, partly due to the rival's interpretation of engine compression ratio rules. That loophole will close after the fifth round in Canada, officials confirmed. Ferrari may benefit from the ADUO mechanism, allowing extra powertrain upgrades for teams 2-4% behind the leader after the sixth, 12th and 18th rounds, or two upgrades if more than 4% down. 'Surely the Mercedes power units have a big advantage over us at the moment,' Leclerc told Sky Sports F1 after the Japanese Grand Prix, where he lost two tenths per lap early on to Oscar Piastri and George Russell. He felt 'down' on power, while Lewis Hamilton reported even less than his teammate. Leclerc added: 'This is a focus, but we must not forget that there are huge gains in developing also the chassis, the aerodynamics, putting the tyres in the right window... we need to improve absolutely everything around the car.' Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur echoed the view, noting a straight-line performance deficit. 'We have a lot of work... performance is coming from everywhere, but we have to do a step in every single area,' Vasseur said. He emphasized making a bigger development jump than rivals as cars enter homologation.