Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari engineers may understand 2026 battery better than Lewis Hamilton camp

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Charles Leclerc’s engineers had a better understanding of Ferrari’s battery than Lewis Hamilton’s camp at the Japanese Grand Prix, Karun Chandhok says.

Hamilton leapfrogged Leclerc during last Sunday’s race due to a fortunate safety car that allowed him to save time in the pits. After passing George Russell at the start, he was running third behind Kimi Antonelli, another beneficiary, and Oscar Piastri.

But the seven-time world champion would eventually drop to sixth as Leclerc, Russell and Lando Norris all found a way past. The Monegasque reasserted his authority in the Ferrari duel after losing out to Hamilton at the Chinese GP.

Charles Leclerc’s engineers may have better understanding of Ferrari battery

Speaking on Sky Sports F1 after the race, Chandhok addressed Hamilton’s deployment complaints.

Hamilton repeatedly complained about a lack of power on the straights compared to the cars around him. At one point, he asked for an explanation after Leclerc gained ground on the back straight in the sister car.

While the two power units are the same, this suggests that Leclerc’s engineers have made more progress in understanding the new batteries. The electric motor is almost three times as powerful this year, with ‘boost’ and ‘overtake’ modes coming into play.

• READ MORE: Jolyon Palmer says Kimi Antonelli made Lewis Hamilton look like a ‘backmarker’ in Japan

There will inevitably be data-sharing between the two sides of the garage, and energy deployment will be the main area of study for most teams in the long gap before Miami.

“Whatever they were doing on [Leclerc’s] side of the garage was still better than what they were doing on Lewis’ side,” said Chandhok. “We heard Lewis saying he was down on power throughout the race. I heard Lewis at one point saying, ‘How’s he caught me so much?’

“It sounds like they’re all still trying to figure this out, which is completely understandable. We’ve had three weekends.”

Lewis Hamilton’s crucial Monza test before Miami GP

Ferrari are plotting a power unit upgrade for round four at the start of May. While Hamilton spoke about getting a ‘new engine’, the team can only make software adjustments at this stage.

Still, that could be significant in addressing the superclipping issues the team are currently experiencing.

The consensus is that Ferrari may have the advantage over Mercedes in the corners at this stage, though this may be more evident on slower-speed circuits.

Ferrari will test a new aerodynamic package before Miami, with both drivers reporting to Monza for a nominal filming day on 21 April.