Lewis Hamilton boost as Leclerc drops ‘very impressive’ Ferrari F1 2026 update

Lewis Hamilton will not be getting the Ferrari SF-25 upgrade he wants, as all eyes are on next year, but Charles Leclerc’s reveal of “very impressive” F1 2026 progress being made is a major boost for both drivers.

The current F1 season remains in progress, but development across the grid has already switched fully to F1 2026, with new chassis and engine regulations set to arrive. At Ferrari, Leclerc is seeing a “very impressive” rate of improvement.

Ferrari the F1 2026 team to watch?

It is all change with the F1 regulations for 2026. The cars are due to become slightly smaller under the FIA’s ‘nimble car’ concept, and will be 30 kilograms lighter.

The Drag Reduction System [DRS] meanwhile bows out as active aerodynamics on the front and rear wings take over. Plus, the Pirelli tyres will become 25 millimeters narrower at the front and 30mm at the rear.

Meanwhile on the engine side, the internal combustion engine will run on fully sustainable biofuel, while the electrical energy output will ramp up. Next year’s MGU-K will chuck out up to 350kW, compared to the current 120kW max.

Ferrari are working on both fronts as a chassis and engine manufacturer, and Leclerc is reporting “very impressive” progress, having previously spoken with a degree of concern about the new rules.

“The rate of improvement is very impressive, I think for all the team,” Leclerc confirmed.

“Obviously, there are big, big gains found every week. So, since the last time I actually commented that, it’s definitely gone for better, and that is a good thing.

“I still think that it’s going to be a huge change, and there will be some things that I think are going to be very difficult to change, and we’ll just have to adapt to these new cars. And also the way we will fight is going to be very tricky.

“But, I take that as a challenge for now. I’m sure that if we win, I will absolutely love those regulations. If we don’t, then it might be four very long years.

“But yeah, it got a lot better. That’s all I can say for now. Then we’ll see where we end up.”

Leclerc’s comments will be music to the ears of Hamilton, who admitted that he desperately wants an upgrade to the 2025 Ferrari, which will not be coming due to the 2026 focus.

F1 2026 will be a shot at redemption for Hamilton after a challenging first season in Ferrari red.

“I would give anything for an upgrade,” said Hamilton in Baku, “but obviously, we don’t have that, to focus on next year’s car.

“So, we just have to do better in optimising and execution.”

How the F1 2026 season is shaping up

👉 F1 2026 driver line-up: Who is already confirmed for the 2026 grid?

👉 F1 2026: Confirmed teams and power unit suppliers for F1’s huge regulation changes

With such a jump in electrical power for F1 2026, energy management is due to become an increasingly vital aspect for performance.

Leclerc was asked whether he likes this factor, with drivers able to influence performance via energy, in addition to driving skill.

“I think we’ve all been used to driving, and make a difference in the driving,” he said. “I think the driving got to a pretty high level now, and it’s obviously more and more difficult to do the difference, but it’s still possible, and this is probably what I enjoy most.

“But it’s a challenge in itself to also work around those new challenges and to make sure that we get a competitive advantage because of it, by understanding it earlier than the others.

“So yeah, my answer is probably that I would rather focus on driving. But, that’s not possible, and in that, I find an interesting challenge as well, to try and master earlier than the others.”

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