Why Charles Leclerc is refusing to board the Ferrari hype prepare

It’s a cliche, however no much less true for being oft repeated, to say that “it’s the hope that kills you.” In Formulation 1 phrases, this previous adage might be most acquainted to Ferrari followers: because the 2026 season begins, it is a bit of over 18 years and 4 months since Kimi Raikkonen claimed the drivers’ title with victory within the remaining spherical of the 2007 season at Interlagos.

No different crew in Formulation 1 is so cloaked in fable and mystique as Ferrari. Having contested yearly because the world champion started, it enjoys a large world fanbase – in addition to a quasi-religious standing in its native Italy.

So expectations are naturally excessive forward of each season, regardless of how typically these hopes have been cruelly dashed. Now getting into his eighth yr as a Ferrari driver, Charles Leclerc is effectively acquainted with bearing the burden of expectations – and decided to not get carried away, regardless of the positivity surrounding the crew’s pre-season testing type.

“I am fairly impartial going into this season,” he instructed media together with Motorsport.com earlier than the motion bought below manner in Melbourne.

“I’ve had fairly a couple of years with the crew now and I understand how it is like. To be driving for Ferrari may be very, very particular, however with that additionally comes a variety of noise and typically expectations that does not actually replicate the actual image.

“So I do not actually have any expectations for now. I simply go day-to-day.

“I attempt to do the absolute best job and I hope that which means that on Sunday we’re right here celebrating the primary win of the season. But when not, we’ll take it from there and attempt to work from that.”

Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari celebrates on the rostrum

Picture by: Sutton Photos

Final yr was significantly disappointing for Leclerc and team-mate Lewis Hamilton, since Ferrari had ended the 2024 season with arguably the quickest automobile on the grid. It was due to this fact logical to anticipate that Ferrari would carry this manner ahead – but it surely failed to barter the required compromises to run its 2025 automobile low sufficient to the bottom to maximise its aerodynamic idea.

Ferrari in impact deserted growth of the SF-25 final April in favour of 2026 growth and arrived in pre-season testing with a automobile bristling with attention-grabbing concepts, together with a intelligent vane association behind the exhaust and a pivoting higher rear wing component. It additionally grew to become obvious that it had higher anticipated the impact on beginning efficiency of the MGU-H hybrid component being faraway from the method this season.

All this has left Leclerc in a really totally different form of expectation administration mode after a yr of getting to bat off more and more aggressive strains of questioning over Ferrari’s efficiency.

“I am all the time very cautious,” he stated. “Yeah, so there’s positively positivity across the crew however that is not one thing that ought to have an effect on us. And it is one thing that really, greater than something, we have to attempt to keep away from fascinated by or being affected by.

“As a result of it is fairly often the case that you just both have negativity or positivity surrounding the crew, however that does not actually replicate the true image of what is going on on behind the scenes. It is really our job to actually concentrate on what we’re doing as a crew.

“I feel we did an excellent job and on that we must be glad. I do not assume it means a lot going ahead as a result of for now it is very, very early days – and once more I do not assume anyone actually confirmed their actual potential [during pre-season testing] so we are going to solely see after qualifying.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

Picture by: William West – AFP – Getty Photos

“However certainly I favor to be in place the place we’re right here to calm the expectations down relatively than having to handle a variety of negativity across the crew – and that is all the time a little bit of a greater state of affairs to be in. However in each methods I do not assume that that is one thing that should change our personal temper contained in the crew.”

Having stated that, Leclerc then led a Ferrari 1-2 in first apply at Albert Park. For all of the insistence that it’s too early to anoint a favorite, there might be these already anxiously reconsidering bets on earlier bookies’ alternative George Russell… However they need to do their due diligence on the Mercedes long-run tempo first.

Images from Australian GP – Friday

Oscar Piastri, McLaren