Charles Leclerc’s triumph at Silverstone had a special flavor. The Ferrari driver had not tasted victory since the 2024 United States Grand Prix, a streak of 38 races without stepping onto the top step of the podium.
This period had been particularly frustrating for the Monegasque, who was facing significant difficulties with the behavior of his car. While his teammate Lewis Hamilton was gradually finding his footing at Ferrari and delivering solid performances, Leclerc struggled to regain his usual feel.
The 28-year-old driver had notably pointed out problems related to braking and his feedback at the wheel. To try to improve, he even adopted some settings used by Hamilton, including a configuration combining Carbon Industrie discs with a Brembo system.
These changes ultimately paid off at Silverstone. Leclerc first outqualified Hamilton before becoming the first teammate to beat the seven-time world champion at his home Grand Prix since Nico Rosberg in 2013.
Leclerc refuses to believe everything is fixed
Despite this important victory, Charles Leclerc remains cautious. The Ferrari driver believes that the new cars still require a lot of adaptation and that his regained confidence should not be taken for granted.
“These cars are very specific and very different from those we have driven since the start of our careers. So it takes more time to get used to them.”
The Monegasque explains that he had an encouraging start to the season before gradually losing his feel.
“I was very competitive during the first part of the season, then I lost a bit of the feeling with the car.”
Ferrari then made several changes to try to find a balance better suited to his driving style. But this transition took longer than expected.
“We changed several things on the car and it took me longer than I would have liked to get back to the level I was looking for.”
“The battle with this car has been important”
Leclerc also acknowledges that some problems encountered during races cost him many championship points.
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“It was not a pleasant situation, but I am very happy to have come out of it this way.”
However, he refuses to consider this victory as the start of a domination.
“I must not get carried away thinking the war is over. It’s just one race.”
For him, the difficulties recently encountered can still reappear.
“The battle with this car has been quite significant lately and I cannot take for granted that everything is now behind me.”
Ferrari wants to confirm at Spa-Francorchamps
This victory at Silverstone nevertheless represents a positive signal for Ferrari and for Leclerc, who seems to have regained better confidence behind the wheel of the SF-26.
The challenge will now be to confirm this progress in the upcoming rounds, starting with the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.
The Monegasque assures he will continue his analysis work to more regularly regain this level of performance.
“I will keep working and try to find these feelings more often in the future.”
After finally returning to victory, Charles Leclerc therefore wants to avoid any overconfidence and prefers to focus on building a sustainable momentum.
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