Charles Leclerc’s worrying Ferrari claim: ‘We can’t lie to ourselves’

Charles Leclerc says Ferrari “must not lie to ourselves” and concede it no longer has the best chassis on the 2026 Formula 1 grid, following a tough Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Ferrari hasn’t had the strongest power unit of the field at any point this season, but was able to be a contender in races due to its strong chassis.

It scored podiums in six of the first seven races, including a victory at the Barcelona Grand Prix with Lewis Hamilton, before Charles Leclerc won at Silverstone a few weeks later.

But Ferrari hasn’t been on the podium since the Belgian Grand Prix in July, while it could only get as high as fourth last weekend in Baku with Leclerc.

Ferrari rivals have “made a big step”

Speaking after the Baku race, Leclerc was blunt in his assessment of where Ferrari is at now in the pecking order, while accepting that the car’s previous strength no longer exists.

“I think so, but we must not lie to ourselves: McLaren and Red Bull have made a big step forward,” he told Sky F1 when asked if there were good tracks coming up for Ferrari.

“I think Mercedes is also making steps forward in terms of corner speed.

“And so, I don’t think we have the best, best chassis like we used to have earlier in the season.

“So, this is something that we need to work on and come back to a better level on that.”

Ferrari’s ADUO2 engine update, introduced at Monza, hasn’t reduced its power deficit to the likes of Mercedes and Red Bull.

Leclerc said this was evident during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but also conceded that the SF-26 simply didn’t have “raw pace”.

“Yeah, I think straightline speed [was lacking], but not only that,” he added.

“The raw pace was just not there compared to a Red Bull, compared to the Mercedes.

“The McLaren was here and there, but we had a bad start, which unfortunately conditioned our whole race after that.

“So, a bit of a shame. I was hopeful about the second place. But, being realistic as well, we knew it would be a difficult race.”

Team-mate Lewis Hamilton struggled even more, with the British driver sixth at the chequered flag.

Ferrari’s dip in form also comes at a time when team boss Fred Vasseur’s future is in doubt.