Formula 1, Sportrik Media - Charles Leclerc has explained why assessing the competitive order ahead of the 2026 Formula 1 season is particularly complicated, stressing how teams can now “hide the real potential” of their cars through subtle power unit adjustments.
The Monegasque driver pointed to the expanded complexity of the new hybrid systems, especially the more powerful electrical components, which allow teams to manipulate performance in ways that were not previously possible. As a result, drawing firm conclusions from pre-season testing in Bahrain has become increasingly unreliable.
“I think everybody is trying to throw the ball to the other guys,” Leclerc told media, including RacingNews365. “It’s normal at this point of the season, especially because it’s so difficult to understand.”
According to Leclerc, even with the previous generation of cars it was challenging to determine the true pecking order during testing. However, the 2026 regulations have intensified that uncertainty.
“With hybrid — and especially the electric engine being much more powerful — there are so many small tweaks that you can do. You can hide the real potential of the car in many, many different ways now. It’s very, very difficult for us to understand exactly where we stand.”
His comments come amid the familiar early-season narrative exchange, with rival teams such as Red Bull and Mercedes publicly downplaying their own prospects while hinting at the strength of others.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding outright pace, Leclerc expressed satisfaction with Ferrari’s execution of its testing programme. He highlighted reliability as a key positive during the opening phase of running.
“What I’m happy about is that we are going through our programme, and we haven’t had any reliability issues so far. That’s a good start.”
He added that the data correlation has met expectations, providing a stable platform for further development.
Assessing the opposition, Leclerc acknowledged that Red Bull has demonstrated strong signs in terms of power unit performance since the start of testing. He also suggested that Mercedes appears competitive, potentially concealing more performance than currently visible.
“I think Red Bull has shown very impressive things power unit-wise, especially here. Mercedes is also showing some very impressive things at times, but I would say they are hiding a lot more.”
From his current perspective, Leclerc believes Red Bull and Mercedes may hold a slight advantage over Ferrari, while McLaren remains harder to evaluate definitively.
“From where I stand now, it’s Red Bull and Mercedes in front, and then us. But it doesn’t seem to be too much of a gap for now.”
With the added flexibility offered by the 2026 power unit regulations, Leclerc underlined that a clear picture of the competitive hierarchy will only emerge once teams run comparable fuel loads and power modes in qualifying conditions at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
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