Charles Leclerc Admits China Grand Prix Confirm Mercedes' Dominance

Charles Leclerc has stated that the China Grand Prix confirmed the concerns about Mercedes' significant advantage in the F1 championship.

Initially, Ferrari was confused by their impressive challenge to Mercedes at the Australian Grand Prix and the Sprint Race in China. However, it was expected by many that Mercedes would prove themselves as a team to be beaten in the new F1 era.

As predicted, Mercedes showed their might by taking the top spot in the early stages of the Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli quickly regaining their positions. After the Safety Car interruption, the same pattern was observed.

Leclerc was asked by Crash.net if the weekend was an official confirmation of Mercedes' dominance, and he replied: 'Yes. I wouldn't say we're expecting that; we hope we'll never see days like this, but I feel, after testing, there were some issues that didn't match up.'

'During the race, I couldn't figure out why we were so close in Australia, why we were so close in the Sprint. I think now, it's slightly more accurate,' Leclerc explained.

'That doesn't mean we can't put pressure on them and put them in difficult situations, because the competition between the cars makes the race very exciting.'

There's a one-week break before the third round of the 2026 season at Suzuka, followed by a lengthy five-week period until Miami after the Grand Prix of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were canceled due to the Iran conflict.

Regarding whether Ferrari has a plan to close the points gap with Mercedes during this period, Leclerc noted: 'There are a few plans out there. How much it will affect our points gap with Mercedes, I don't know.'