After another hard-fought podium at Suzuka, Charles Leclerc has pointed directly at Ferrari’s flaw – and it’s sitting right behind him.
As the Italian outfit tries to keep pace with a resurgent Mercedes and a fast-rising McLaren, Leclerc has made one thing clear: the SF-26’s power unit is holding them back.
Leclerc’s third-place finish at the Japanese Grand Prix looked, on paper, like another solid result. But the reality was far messier – and far more revealing.
After a lightning start that saw him leap into contention, the race quickly turned complicated. A poorly timed Safety Car shuffled the order, leaving Leclerc fighting to recover ground he felt he shouldn’t have lost.
“Obviously with the Safety Car we got a little unlucky so from that moment onwards I knew that I was a little bit on the back foot, especially compared to Kimi and Lewis," said theMonegasque.
"But then I was like, let's keep pushing, let's try and keep those tyres and bring them to the end and actually it wasn't that much of a disadvantage as I thought.
"The tyres were actually pretty good, the few laps that I had done wasn't so bad, it was just that we lost a few positions and then it was quite a fun race. Just not quite enough to get Oscar but it was a cool race.
"I'm quite pleased. Of course I'm not over the moon because it's only a P3 but considering everything, we've been quite unlucky with the Safety Car."
That “cool race” still ended with Leclerc chasing shadows – watching Kimi Antonelli and Oscar Piastri slip just out of reach.
The real issue: power, or lack of it
While Ferrari has shown flashes of competitiveness this season, Leclerc’s post-race diagnosis cut straight to the heart of the issue – and echoed concerns already raised by team boss Frédéric Vasseur.
“I think doing a step back on those first three races, there’s a clear thing that we need to improve and this is surely the power unit.”
It’s a blunt admission – and a worrying one. In an era where marginal gains define success, lacking straight-line speed is a critical weakness.
“But we obviously cannot bring anything to Miami. But there’s not only that, and in a year like this one everything is very new. I think the rate of improvements of every team is massive, so there’s a lot more than just the power unit.”
Leclerc is careful not to pin everything on one component. In a season shaped by sweeping regulation changes, performance is a complex puzzle.
“There’s putting the tyres in the right window, there’s the aero, there’s the chassis, and on that we’ll work flat out in order to try and close the gap as much as possible to the Mercedes and to hopefully keep behind the McLaren, and then we’ll see.
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"But yes, I think the power unit is maybe our main weakness at the moment, but there are many other things that can definitely influence and help us to close the gap in the meantime.”
The message from Leclerc is clear – and it’s not entirely comfortable listening in Maranello. Ferrari may still be in the fight, but the flaws are showing.
The Scuderia now faces a familiar dilemma: respond quickly, or risk slipping further behind.
For now, Leclerc is still delivering. But if Ferrari can’t unlock more power soon, even his brilliance may not be enough to keep them in the hunt.
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