Leclerc foresees collapse of massive Ferrari advantage as rivals optimise cars

The Monegasque driver, who, alongside Lewis Hamilton, lit up the scenes by surging to the front of the grid with a brilliant race start at the Australian Grand Prix, explained that he expects other teams to soon optimise their cars to reach a similar window that allows for strong starts.

“Unfortunately, I don't think we're going to keep that advantage. I think whenever the engines are all running in the optimal window, there won’t be much difference between cars at the start. We have an advantage in terms of the robustness of our system, as we seem to reach that optimal window a little more easily compared to others, especially Mercedes,” Leclerc told GPblog.

“Once Mercedes figures out how to put themselves in the optimal window, I don’t think there will be much difference between the cars. I don’t expect it to take them long to figure it out. I don’t think this will be an advantage that lasts through the season,” he added.

The start advantage has been one of the standout characteristics of the SF-26 challenger. Last time out at the Australian Grand Prix, Leclerc and Hamilton both made impressive off-the-line gains, surging to first and third respectively on the opening lap after starting fourth and seventh.

Earlier, Hamilton touched on the potential advantage Ferrari’s rear wing, dubbed the ‘Macarena,’ could offer during the Chinese Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion, however, tempered expectations, describing the rear wing as a “flip-flop wing.”

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