Charles Leclerc sees major Ferrari progress in Bahrain compared to difficult start last year

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Charles Leclerc has detailed his satisfaction with Ferrari’s testing programme at the 2026 F1 pre-season tests in Bahrain after comparing it to the Scuderia’s execution last year.

Last year’s F1 campaign was Ferrari’s most disappointing term during the entirety of the ground-effect regulatory era, with the Scuderia not managing to secure a single race win.

Lewis Hamilton displayed a solemnness never seen before in his illustrious F1 career, and Charles Leclerc’s fury was evident after every passing race weekend.

Things reached a tipping point after John Elkann intervened with some fiery comments about Hamilton and Leclerc in the media, and Ferrari was in turmoil.

However, the 2026 testing season has gotten off to a rather encouraging start, and Leclerc has detailed just how happy he is with how things have gone so far.

• READ MORE: Ferrari readying a ‘lot more’ upgrades for second Bahrain F1 test as key aero changes spotted

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Charles Leclerc’s encouraging verdict on Ferrari’s 2026 F1 test programme in Bahrain

During an interview with Sky Sport Italia on the third and final day of testing in Bahrain, Leclerc’s opinion on Ferrari’s programme was highly encouraging for the Scuderia’s upcoming campaign.

The Monegasque began by highlighting that it is far too soon to tell where Ferrari currently stand in the pecking order, saying, “In terms of performance, it’s impossible to know.

“Before, there were two or three things we could play with to hide our performance; now there are 15, so it’s very difficult to understand where we are compared to the others. But yes, I don’t know the approach.

“I wouldn’t call it safe in the sense that there has been and there is work to be done. It’s been incredible in Maranello to push everything and everyone; they’re doing it in a positive way.”

Leclerc then shared his sentiments on the way Ferrari organised the three days of testing, adding, “For now I’m satisfied with how it went, I’m not talking about performance, but how it went and how we’re managing the tests so far.

“Last year was much more difficult; the tests were much less structured, but this year is very good.”

• READ MORE: Ferrari SF-26 debuts ‘aggressive’ diffuser extensions to outpace Mercedes and Williams on downforce

Nigel Mansell has made a bold prediction for Lewis Hamilton in 2026 👀

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Lewis Hamilton’s arrival at Ferrari may have impacted their 2025 F1 testing programme

Of course, the headlines during pre-season ahead of the 2025 campaign were dominated by the arrival of Hamilton at the team.

While there was still the usual work to be done, engineers and team personnel, as well as Hamilton, had to get used to a completely new way of working with a high-profile new name in the garage.

Leclerc reportedly lost confidence in the rear of Ferrari’s 2025 F1 car during testing, and the Scuderia were unable to find a solution to the issue throughout the entirety of the campaign.

Multiple upgrades came and went throughout the season, with none of them proving to be sufficient enough for the Monegasque to regain his confidence, which added to their disappointing term.

However, the sentiments that are coming out of the Ferrari garage this year are much more encouraging for the Prancing Horse.

Fred Vasseur’s job is currently hanging by a string, but a good start to the season could give him even more security to finally bring a title back to Maranello.