Leclerc expects Mercedes to emerge as the benchmark in Austria due to its power‑unit advantage
Charles Leclerc has played down suggestions that Ferrari could arrive at the Red Bull Ring as favourites, insisting that Mercedes’ power unit advantage and the characteristics of the Austrian circuit still make the Brackley team the benchmark heading into the weekend.
Ferrari arrive in Spielberg with renewed optimism thanks to their fresh power unit introduced under the ADUO mechanism — a system designed to help manufacturers with a performance deficit catch up during the season.
The upgrade is intended to chip away at Mercedes’ advantage, but Leclerc remains cautious about how much it will shift the competitive order.
“First of all, the team is doing an incredible job in pushing like crazy on every single component of the car,” Leclerc said ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix weekend. “There’s the development of these pieces, but there is also the production of these pieces and everybody is just pushing to the maximum.”
The Monegasque emphasised that while the update is a step forward, it is not a magic solution.
“I think this is the result of it. How much of a difference it will make is a bit more of a difficult answer to get, but surely it goes in the right direction. Mercedes have got a big advantage so that’s not the only thing we need.”
Ferrari’s recent form — including the strong pace shown in Barcelona before Leclerc’s retirement — has boosted morale, and the driver hopes the team’s relentless effort will soon be rewarded.
“Everybody is aware and we’ll push to the maximum but anything we can take is a very big positive. I hope that the team will be rewarded, just like in Barcelona, with another win on Sunday.”
Despite Ferrari’s progress, Leclerc believes the layout of the Red Bull Ring naturally favours Mercedes. The Austrian circuit features long straights and heavy acceleration zones — areas where the Silver Arrows’ power unit continues to shine.
Prompted on whether Ferrari could be considered favourites this weekend, Leclerc was unequivocal: “I don’t think so. There are quite a few straight lines here and they’re quite long as well.
"I still believe that Mercedes have got the stronger power unit so I think they’ll get back a little bit of the advantage that they had before," Leclerc continued.
He added that Ferrari’s competitiveness may vary across the weekend: “Let’s wait and see. I hope we are closer than previously, than Barcelona, and we’ll see how it goes. I think we can be in the mix, especially in the race. I think in Qualifying we might be a bit more on the back foot.”
