Leclerc admits Ferrari 'far away' from repeating Barcelona win after grip-starved Austria practice

Charles Leclerc has conceded Ferrari are unlikely to repeat their Spanish Grand Prix performance at the Austrian Grand Prix after a grip-starved Friday practice in Spielberg left the team fifth and eighth in FP2, with Lewis Hamilton over six tenths adrift of pacesetter Kimi Antonelli.

Two weeks ago, Ferrari stunned Mercedes at Barcelona to hand the Silver Arrows their first defeat of the 2026 Formula 1 season, with Hamilton’s pace in the final stint raising hopes that the Scuderia’s upgrade package — centred on a slightly improved V6 engine, the first product of its ADUO allowance — had genuinely closed the gap to the front. Friday’s running in Austria offered little of the same encouragement.

“I’m not so confident, but never say never,” Leclerc said. “It’s true that on the Friday in Barcelona, there were a few elements that led us to think there was quite a bit of performance in the car. At the moment it’s been a struggle. So it’s been a difficult Friday for the team.”

Leclerc, who sat out FP1 to hand his car to rookie Dino Beganovic — who posted the ninth-fastest time — described the handling as unmanageable from the very first lap. “Just overall grip,” he said when asked what was missing. “We’ve been sliding on all four tyres since the first lap. It’s been very, very tricky. The bigger problem is that the pace is not there. Maybe after 20 laps we are fast, but 20 laps is not good enough. We’ve got to do some work on the car.”

Early long-run data also placed Ferrari behind both Mercedes and McLaren, suggesting the difficulties were not confined to a single-lap deficit. Team principal Fred Vasseur acknowledged the team had been unable to cope with the sweltering conditions, with air temperatures above 33°C and track temperatures clearing 50°C.

“Today we struggled a little bit with the conditions, a bit like Barcelona,” Vasseur said, adding that altitude, air temperature and track temperature had all played a role. “We have to work on ourselves — on the set-up, on the car, on the driving.”

Vasseur joked that Ferrari were “copying Barcelona” with another unimpressive Friday, though the team’s ability to turn that around in Spain will provide some hope heading into Saturday. Whether the same recovery is possible in Austria’s very different conditions remains the central question for the Scuderia before qualifying.