Charles Leclerc says Ferrari need to improve ‘absolutely everything’ on the SF-26 over April break

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Charles Leclerc recorded his second podium of the season at the Japanese Grand Prix, but he has conceded that Ferrari are far behind Mercedes.

Kimi Antonelli claimed victory at Suzuka, with Oscar Piastri and Leclerc completing the podium. The Monegasque driver battled hard with teammate Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, but he could not get close to challenging for the win.

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Leclerc blasted qualifying as he lost time down the straights with energy deployment. He had to settle for P4 before Piastri and the two Mercedes drivers.

Ferrari have finished third in all three races in 2026 thus far, with Hamilton grabbing his maiden podium in China. It is a strong result for Leclerc at the Japanese Grand Prix, but he admits that the team need to make drastic improvements.

Ferrari need to improve ‘absolutely everything’ on the car, says Charles Leclerc

Ferrari have consistently shown that they have the second fastest car on the grid behind Mercedes. The Silver Arrows have won every race so far, and besides their strong starts off the line, the Maranello outfit have little to rival them at the moment.

Mercedes have more traction than Ferrari out of the corners and seem to know how to recharge the battery better throughout a race. They have a lot of work to do, and Leclerc admitted that himself after the Japanese GP.

Speaking in the media pen via Sky Sports F1 (29/03, 8:37 am), he explained the extent of the improvements the team have to make.

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“I don’t quite understand yet what happened in the first few laps. It seems that I was quite down compared to the others, but it might be that it was just an impression and we were just deploying at different places.

“It’s kind of complex in the first few laps, especially when everything is trying to get to its optimum place. But yeah, after that, I maybe had less feeling of it. I mean, the Mercedes power unit need to have a big advantage over us at the moment.

“This is the focus, but we must not forget that there are huge gains in developing also the chassis, the aerodynamics, putting the tyres in the right window, and all of this makes the difference.

“The engine, we cannot change it now anyway, but in the meantime, we get there, we need to improve absolutely everything around the car.”

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Bahrain and Saudi Arabia cancellations are the perfect opportunity for Ferrari to improve SF-26

F1 will not return to action until the Miami GP in May. Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have been cancelled in 2026 due to the conflict in the Middle East.

Most teams will use this opportunity to improve their packages, and some could make some real progress. The cost cap is not affected by the cancelled events, giving teams like Ferrari more money to spend on the car per round.

Furthermore, during the enforced break, Ferrari want to lift the ban on private testing. The Maranello outfit want to be able to test SF-26 and make use of the month’s break to improve the machine.