Charles Leclerc has called on Ferrari to “keep being aggressive” in developing its 2026 Formula 1 car, stressing that every upgrade is now crucial in the battle to catch Mercedes and stay ahead in the title race.
After a disappointing Hungarian Grand Prix—where Leclerc finished fourth and Ferrari’s early weekend promise faded—Leclerc highlighted how rivals like McLaren have surged forward thanks to bold development. “It’s a championship again that, every upgrade is so much more significant than in the past because it makes us do such a big step forward,” Leclerc told reporters. “We’ve seen it with McLaren this weekend. So it’s going to be important that we stay on top and keep being aggressive, as aggressive as we’ve been.”
Leclerc also pointed out Ferrari’s puzzling trend of underperforming on tracks where they expect to excel and overachieving on weekends where they anticipate a struggle. “There’s clearly a tendency… both cars seem to have that tendency of being good in the weekend where we expected to struggle and struggling in the weekend where we thought we would be good. So this has to be understood.”
Reflecting on the Hungarian GP, Leclerc admitted that a poor start and inconsistent performance across stints hurt Ferrari’s result. “We paid the price with the start; however, we weren’t particularly stellar at any point in the race. There were too many ups and downs, and that is where we need to work: to try and find that consistency with this car.”
As Ferrari looks ahead to Zandvoort, Leclerc’s message is clear: relentless development and a push for consistency are key if the team is to challenge for the championship.
