Leclerc will start from the second row alongside Hamilton
13 thousandths separated Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in the Chinese GP Qualifying. The two Ferrari SF-26s will go on the attack against the Mercedes of Antonelli and Russell at the start tomorrow, exploiting what is currently a clear advantage resulting from very specific design choices (a smaller turbo).
Leclerc has now ‘surrendered’ to the fact that he cannot digest the Shanghai circuit on a single lap: “In Qualifying on this track I am really terrible, it’s not that I don’t make an effort, but after so many years I now have to accept this fact – the Ferrari driver told Sky – what is certainly positive is that we went from being eight tenths behind Mercedes to three tenths, even if Russell had problems and so we don’t know where he could have pushed with a clean session.”
Read more 2026 Constructors’ Championship: the standings after the Sprint in China
The Ferrari driver chose a race setup and starts tomorrow with a clear objective: “The setup I chose should work better in the race, tomorrow the goal is to win. Hamilton ahead of me in Qualifying? On this track, being a few thousandths behind him is not bad, although obviously the goal is always to be the best Ferrari driver. He was better than me and deserved third position.”
Read more Leclerc and the fight with Hamilton: “Does Lewis know how wide these cars are?”
