Leclerc suggests that Mercedes might not have shown their full potential in qualifying
Despite an absolutely dominant display from Mercedes, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has suggested that the Brackley-based outfit might have hidden their full potential in the first qualifying session of the 2026 F1 season.
Charles Leclerc left the opening qualifying session of the 2026 Formula 1 season with mixed emotions, finishing fourth in Melbourne but expressing clear disappointment at the sizeable gap to Mercedes.
The Monegasque driver acknowledged that Ferrari had not maximised its potential, yet he also stressed that even a perfect session would not have brought them close to the dominant Silver Arrows.
Leclerc explained that Ferrari’s qualifying was disrupted by technical complications that began in Q2. He revealed that the team encountered issues with energy deployment, which affected the performance of the SF‑26 at a crucial moment in the session. According to him, this setback created a chain reaction that carried into the final phase of qualifying.
He described the situation in straightforward terms, saying, “Frustration about P3, for sure. I won’t go into the detail, because it’s a very complex car to explain, but in Q2 we had issues with our deployment.”
The Monegasque added that the late red flag in Q3 forced Ferrari to completely re‑optimise their final run, leaving them unable to extract the maximum from the car. “Because of the red flag, we had to re‑optimise everything on that last lap, and we couldn’t quite make that. We were a bit sub‑optimal for that last lap, and that definitely cost us P3.”
Despite the difficulties, Leclerc estimated that Ferrari could have gained only around a tenth and a half with a fully optimised lap. He emphasised that such small margins are typical with the new generation of highly complex 2026 cars.
“Maybe optimising everything we would have a tenth‑and‑a‑half, but I’m pretty sure that’s also the story of everybody. These are such complex cars that nobody, I would expect, was optimising absolutely everything out of the car today.”
What concerned Leclerc far more was the performance of Mercedes, who appeared to take a significant step forward compared to pre‑season expectations. He admitted that he had anticipated a gap, but not one as large as the eight‑tenths that ultimately separated Ferrari from the front.
“I thought they were maybe half a second ahead, and in the end they are eight‑tenths in front,” he said. He added that Mercedes’ sudden surge in performance during Saturday morning’s running had caught the entire paddock off guard.
“This morning I did not expect what they’ve shown, and I think they were a lot more turned down than what everybody thought in the paddock.”
Serving you those Saturday shots 📸 pic.twitter.com/josBEa87vq
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) March 7, 2026
Leclerc even suggested that Mercedes might not have shown their full potential in qualifying, noting the extraordinary pace they displayed earlier in the day. “I don’t even know if they were full power in Qualifying, maybe they kept a little bit, because this morning was just crazy.”
When asked whether Ferrari could challenge Mercedes in race trim, Leclerc offered a candid assessment. “I cannot do anything,” he said plainly.
The Monegasque reiterated that Mercedes had looked exceptionally strong on long‑run pace and that Ferrari had no reason to believe the gap would shrink significantly on Sunday. “Yesterday they were super, super strong. I don’t think they had the engine turned up the way they did this morning.”
