Charles Leclerc has insisted that Ferrari must continue to push for second place in the constructors' championship this season, even though finishing higher could limit Lewis Hamilton's chances of winning an eighth Formula 1 title in 2026. The Monegasque driver's stance comes as Ferrari sit second in the standings, 299 points behind leaders McLaren, with 10 rounds remaining.
F1 regulations dictate that wind tunnel testing time for the first six months of 2026 is determined by a team's finishing position in the 2025 championship. A higher finish means less development time, potentially hampering Hamilton's bid for a title-winning car when he joins Ferrari next year. However, Leclerc remains focused on immediate results, stating: 'I am pretty sure it's better to finish second than third. When we are on track, we just want to finish as high up as possible.'
Leclerc acknowledged the wind tunnel trade-off but downplayed its influence on the team's approach. 'This is not something we think of too much. We want to target the highest possible [finish] and then we will deal with whatever amount of hours in the wind tunnel we have,' he said. 'Second place in the constructors' is one of our targets, but the biggest target is to come back to winning races as soon as possible.'
Ferrari have struggled to challenge McLaren this season, with Leclerc admitting that he does not expect to contend for victories at any remaining tracks. 'I do not think there is one track at the moment where we think we are stronger than McLaren. Consistently, McLaren is going to be the strongest car this year,' he added. The team's best hope is to secure second place ahead of Mercedes and Red Bull, which would also bring additional prize money.
