Leclerc singles out 'main weakness' Ferrari need to improve after first three races of 2026

Charles Leclerc believes that the key area Ferrari need to focus on improving going forwards is the power unit, with the Monegasque suggesting that it remains the team’s “main weakness” after the opening three races of the season.

The Scuderia have enjoyed a decent start to the 2026 campaign, having scored a podium finish at every Grand Prix so far as well as holding P2 in the Teams’ Championship behind leaders Mercedes.

However, when asked about the main aspect of the squad’s performance that he would like them to address going into the break before Round 4 in Miami, Leclerc admitted that there are perhaps several factors that could help the Italian outfit to close in.

“I think doing a step back on those first three races, there’s a clear thing that we need to improve and this is surely the power unit,” Leclerc explained after the Japanese Grand Prix. “But we obviously cannot bring anything to Miami.

“But there’s not only that, and in a year like this one everything is very new. I think the rate of improvements of every team is massive, so there’s a lot more than just the power unit.

“There’s putting the tyres in the right window, there’s the aero, there’s the chassis, and on that we’ll work flat out in order to try and close the gap as much as possible to the Mercedes and to hopefully keep behind the McLaren, and then we’ll see.

“But yes, I think the power unit is maybe our main weakness at the moment, but there are many other things that can definitely influence and help us to close the gap in the meantime.”

Leclerc will arrive at the Miami International Autodrome in third place of the Drivers' Championship on 49 points, with the Mercedes pair of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell leading the way on 72 and 63 points respectively.