Leclerc reveals his take on F1’s shrouded 2026 hierarchy

40

As the Bahrain dust settles on Formula 1’s first pre-season test of the new era, Charles Leclerc has offered one of the clearest – and most candid – assessments yet of the emerging competitive order.

While rival teams continue to trade the “favourite” label like a hot potato, the Ferrari driver believes two familiar heavyweights may already hold a slender early advantage heading into 2026.

The sweeping regulation changes, particularly on the power-unit side, have turned lap times into riddles rather than revelations. Energy deployment strategies, lift-and-coast techniques and endless electrical settings have made outright pace notoriously difficult to read, even for the drivers themselves.

A Foggy Picture – With Glimpses of Truth

Leclerc was frank about just how opaque the data currently appears from inside the cockpit.

“It's so difficult to understand,” he admitted. “It was difficult with the previous generation of cars, but now with the hybrid and especially the electrical engine being so much more powerful, there are so many small tweaks that you can do.

“And you can hide the real potential of the car in many, many different ways now. So, it's very, very difficult for us to understand exactly where we stand.

“What I'm happy of is that we are going through our programme. We didn't have any reliability issues so far, and this is a good start. Everything stacks up with what we expected. So that's a good base to then start to work on and to improve.”

Ferrari’s smooth running has provided reassurance, even if it hasn’t yet translated into headline-grabbing times.

Who Sits at the Front?

Despite the uncertainty, Leclerc does see a tentative hierarchy forming – one that places Red Bull Racing and Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team slightly ahead of both Ferrari and McLaren Formula 1 Team.

“I think everybody is trying to throw the ball to the other guys, it's normal at that point of the season,” the Monegasque added.

“I think Red Bull have shown very impressive things power-unit-wise since the start of the test, especially here. Mercedes are showing some very impressive things as well sometimes. But I would say they are hiding a lot more.

“I would expect them two especially to be a bit ahead of us. Then McLaren is a little bit more difficult to understand, but from where I stand now, it's Red Bull, Mercedes in front, and then us. But it doesn't seem to be too much of a gap for now.”

Those remarks arrive as Andrea Kimi Antonelli topped the overall Bahrain timesheets for Mercedes, with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri close behind. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen’s best effort hinted that Red Bull may still have performance in reserve.

For Leclerc, the message is neither alarmist nor complacent. The field may be cloaked in strategic secrecy, but beneath the smoke, he suspects the usual powerhouses are already sharpening their blades.

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via X and Facebook

Michael Delaney