Leclerc ‘very excited’ – eager to bring Ferrari back on top

Charles Leclerc left the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with a spring in his step on Tuesday, describing his first laps in Ferrari’s 2026 SF-26 as “very exciting” despite wet conditions that kept performance off the agenda.

The Monegasque, who opened Ferrari’s programme for the day, was the first driver on track after the Scuderia sat out Monday, taking the opportunity to focus on understanding the new car rather than chasing lap times.

While the rain might have dampened the asphalt, it certainly didn't dampen the spirits of the Scuderia’s charger.

“It was nice to be back in the car – back in a very, very all-new car, and very different to what we’ve been driving so far,” Leclerc told F1.com. “For now it’s all about trying to understand if everything is working properly, which it kind of did.

“It’s not the best conditions because it’s been a little bit raining this morning, but actually we did our programme anyway because we’re not focused on performance whatsoever.

“We’re more about looking at all the systems that are new on this car and see if everything works as it should, and it did so that’s a positive, and then we’ll go through slowly our programme.”

Laying the groundwork before performance

Leclerc was upbeat about the technical progress made during the morning session and outlined the approach Ferrari will take for the remainder of the shakedown.

“I think for now, obviously being the first morning, we’ve gone through the very first preliminary check of the car,” he said.

“Everything went properly, and little by little we’ll just go through our checklist on the first systems to then eventually what matters most, which is performance.

“But this will come probably a bit later on in those three days and trying to understand first how everything behaves, and then see how it goes.”

‘Very Excited’ for 2026

Beyond the immediate session, Leclerc’s focus shifted to the bigger picture: Ferrari’s chances under the new regulations.

“I’m very excited,” the 28-year-old explained. “I’m very excited to see what the others have in store and when we start pushing a little bit more to see where we are compared to the others.

“This year is a big opportunity for every team to do something different and to maybe gain a bigger advantage than what we’ve seen in the last few years.

“I hope we are the team that will manage to make the difference but, wherever we start, we will push at the maximum to try and bring Ferrari back to the top. It’s been quite a few years, so I hope that this one is ours.”

With two more days of testing still ahead at the Barcelona Shakedown – Ferrari isn’t running on Wednesday – the Italian outfit will continue to refine the SF-26, gather crucial data, and begin setting the stage for a highly anticipated 2026 season.

• Read also: Hamilton hails ‘pretty solid’ first day on track despite wet conditions

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