Struggling during the Silverstone sprint, Charles Leclerc completely reversed the trend in a few hours thanks to targeted setup changes. A work combining data analysis and instinct that finally allowed him to find the path to victory again.
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Nothing predicted such a result after the British Grand Prix sprint.
Only fifth at the finish, more than twelve seconds behind the winner Kimi Antonelli, Charles Leclerc once again seemed doomed to suffer the limits of his Ferrari SF-26.
But on Friday evening, the Monegasque carefully analyzed the data collected during the first sessions and identified several settings likely to better suit his driving style.
“I simply noticed a few things in the data on Friday evening and I thought that some things might not correspond to my driving style.”
Decisive changes
Ferrari then decided to modify several parameters between the sprint and the qualifying. The result was immediate.
Leclerc secured second place on the grid, only 0″175 behind Kimi Antonelli’s pole position, before taking the lead of the race from the start thanks to an excellent launch.
Despite a Grand Prix finish restarted by the safety car, he resisted the comeback of George Russell to claim his first victory since the 2024 United States Grand Prix, the ninth of his Formula 1 career.
“We changed a few small things between the sprint and qualifying, and it greatly improved the car.”
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A method far from obvious
Leclerc insists, however, that this evolution is not the result of a simple reading of the numbers.
According to him, finding the right direction also requires a large share of intuition.
“This kind of change is not as simple as it seems. You don’t just look at the data thinking: ‘This is exactly what needs to be changed.'”
The Ferrari driver explains that this decision is the result of a balance between his feeling behind the wheel and technical analysis.
“It’s a mix of intuition and sensations. We tried this direction and it turned out to be a huge success for me. I was really very happy about it.”
A real turning point in his season?
This success ends a long difficult period for Leclerc.
Before Silverstone, the Monegasque had not won a single race since Austin in October 2024. He was also largely distanced by his teammate Lewis Hamilton in the championship, the latter having already won this season in Spain.
The Canadian weekend notably marked one of the lowest points of his career, Leclerc himself qualifying it as the most difficult of his sporting life.
It remains to be seen whether this victory constitutes a real turning point for Ferrari and its driver or if Silverstone will remain an enchanted parenthesis. One thing is certain: by finally regaining sensations behind the wheel of the SF-26, Charles Leclerc has proven that he remains a serious contender at the front.
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