Leclerc: Understanding the behavior of the car is more difficult than it seems.

      After the Hungarian Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc once again spoke about the challenges associated with the new generation of technology and the 2026 regulations, which are not getting any easier. According to the Ferrari driver, this season it is no longer possible to rely on telemetry analysis in the pursuit of higher speeds, as there are too many variables.

      At each stage of the championship, teams and drivers face extremely complex tasks with a large number of unknowns.

      "Everything really depends on the power units and how everything is set up," Leclerc told RacingNews365. "That's why it's so difficult to work with the new cars: unlike previous years, there are many more variables. Therefore, it's impossible to study the telemetry data and immediately say, 'Definitely, I'm losing here, so I need to adjust my driving approach.'

      You can change your driving style, but the software starts to behave differently, and in the end, everything just gets worse.

      At the beginning of the season, it was very easy to work with the car; I felt confident. But then at the races in Monaco and Montreal, I had significant problems with the SF-26, and after we changed a lot, things partially returned to the previous level.

      I don't think you can categorically say that you need to act this way or that with these cars. There are too many variables, and fully understanding how all these factors affect the car's behavior is much more complicated than it seems.

      I can't agree with the statement that these cars work fine if you apply very aggressive driving techniques – at least, that doesn't suit our car. But it might suit some other one."

      The comments of such an experienced professional as Leclerc, who has 182 Grand Prix races under his belt, indicate that even after 11 races of the season, teams are still far from fully understanding all the nuances of the new technology, and that the challenges are much greater than one might have assumed.

      There is no doubt about the speed and talent of the driver from Monaco; however, in 2026, he has yet to secure a pole position, has only one victory, and has stood on the podium only four times.

      However, last year, when the Ferrari team had practically stopped developing the car by spring, he had the same number of podiums by the summer break. But in 2024, in the first part of the season, he finished in the top three six times and was in third place in the standings at the end of July, while now he is one position lower. Following the recent Hungarian race, he also finished fourth.