Charles Leclerc says he finally rediscovered the confidence he had been missing in recent races after qualifying on the front row for the British Grand Prix, although the Ferrari driver remains cautious about Sunday’s race.

Charles Leclerc believes Ferrari has taken an important step forward after one of his strongest qualifying performances of the 2026 Formula 1 season. The Monegasque driver secured second place on the grid at Silverstone, finishing less than two-tenths of a second from pole position, and admitted he finally felt comfortable behind the wheel of the SF-26 again.

After struggling to extract the car’s full potential over the past several race weekends, Leclerc described Saturday’s qualifying session as a turning point in his relationship with Ferrari’s latest Formula 1 challenger.

Charles Leclerc says Ferrari confidence has finally returned

The Charles Leclerc Ferrari Silverstone weekend marked a significant improvement compared with his recent performances.

Leclerc explained that one of his greatest strengths had always been finding extra performance during the final stage of qualifying, but that feeling had disappeared over the past five or six races.

“Today, finally, it came back,” Leclerc said after qualifying.

The Ferrari driver revealed that although the team had already solved several technical issues affecting the SF-26, he still hadn’t fully regained confidence behind the wheel until Silverstone.

According to Leclerc, recent setup changes have helped him better understand how the current generation of Formula 1 cars behaves at the limit.

Charles Leclerc qualified on the front row after regaining confidence in the Ferrari SF-26.

Ferrari’s setup changes deliver immediate results

Leclerc admitted Ferrari made several significant changes before qualifying, including what he described as a philosophical shift in how the team approaches certain aspects of the car’s setup.

Those adjustments immediately improved his confidence during the decisive Q3 session.

However, the Ferrari driver warned that qualifying pace does not necessarily guarantee similar performance over race distance.

“I just hope I can keep the same feeling tomorrow,” Leclerc explained. “There’s no guarantee everything will work perfectly in the race.”

Ferrari will now look to confirm that the improvements seen during qualifying translate into stronger race pace at one of the fastest circuits on the Formula 1 calendar.

Ferrari’s latest setup changes helped Leclerc unlock more performance in qualifying.

Leclerc remains realistic about the British Grand Prix

Despite Ferrari’s encouraging qualifying result, Leclerc believes Sunday’s race will present a much greater challenge.

The Monegasque driver acknowledged that matching the pace of the race favorite will not be easy, even with his renewed confidence.

Leclerc believes Ferrari has improved but remains cautious ahead of Sunday’s race.

While Leclerc left qualifying encouraged by Ferrari’s progress, he made it clear that the team still has work to do before challenging consistently for victories. Regaining confidence in the SF-26 represents an important step forward, but maintaining that performance over a full Grand Prix will be the real test. If Ferrari can build on the momentum shown at Silverstone, Leclerc could emerge as one of the strongest contenders during the second half of the 2026 Formula 1 season.

George Russell revealed that his Mercedes is consistently losing straight-line speed compared with other Mercedes-powered cars, leaving the British driver doubtful about his chances of fighting for victory at Silverstone.

George Russell believes Mercedes is facing a mysterious performance issue after qualifying for the British Grand Prix, revealing that his W17 has been consistently slower on the straights than every other Mercedes-powered Formula 1 car throughout the Silverstone weekend. Despite qualifying fourth, Russell admitted the unexplained speed deficit is preventing him from challenging the frontrunners.

The British driver said Mercedes engineers are still searching for the cause, with several early theories already ruled out.

George Russell says Mercedes is losing speed on the straights

The George Russell Mercedes straight-line speed issue first became apparent during Friday’s running and continued throughout qualifying.

According to Russell, data shows his Mercedes is losing between 3 km/h and 6 km/h compared with other cars using the same Mercedes power unit.

“If you look at the speed traps, I’m losing six kilometers per hour in the final sector and about three in the middle sector compared with the other Mercedes-powered cars,” Russell explained.

Mercedes initially suspected the brakes might have been dragging slightly and creating additional resistance, but further analysis has cast doubt on that explanation.

“It makes everything much harder because you start the session already knowing you’re at a disadvantage.”

George Russell says his Mercedes has been consistently slower on the straights at Silverstone.

Mercedes still searching for the cause

Russell insisted the problem does not appear to be related to the energy deployment system that has challenged several teams under Formula 1’s new 2026 regulations.

Instead, he believes the car is generating excessive aerodynamic drag.

“The deployment looks normal. It simply feels like I’m driving a car with much more drag,” Russell said. “When you compare the speed traces with yesterday or with my teammate, the problem is exactly the same.”

The issue also affected Russell’s final Q3 lap. Although he was competitive during his first run, he couldn’t improve on his final attempt after struggling to get the tires into the ideal operating window.

Mercedes engineers are investigating why Russell’s W17 is slower than other Mercedes-powered cars.

Russell doubts he can fight for victory

Despite starting near the front, Russell admitted the straight-line speed deficit leaves him with little confidence heading into Sunday’s race.

He believes that without solving the issue, overtaking and defending against rivals will be extremely difficult.

Russell believes Mercedes must solve the problem before the British Grand Prix.

Asked whether he still believes victory is possible, Russell delivered a blunt assessment.

“No,” he said. “If I continue to have this straight-line speed deficit, I can’t fight. We’ll keep working to solve it, because when you’re losing five or six kilometers per hour on the straights, you simply can’t compete.”

Mercedes will continue analyzing Russell’s car overnight in hopes of identifying the source of the problem before the British Grand Prix. If the team can recover the missing straight-line speed, Russell could still challenge the front runners. If not, the home favorite expects another difficult race despite starting from the second row of the grid.

Formula 1 and Lego have expanded their popular Drivers’ Parade for the 2026 British Grand Prix, giving every driver their own drivable Lego race car ahead of the action at Silverstone.

The Lego F1 Drivers’ Parade 2026 is returning to the Formula 1 grid with a bigger spectacle than ever. After the success of last year’s event in Miami, Lego has doubled the number of drivable race cars, allowing each Formula 1 driver to have their own mini vehicle before the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Although the new Lego racers are smaller than last year’s full-size creations, they are faster, lighter and designed to deliver an even more entertaining pre-race show for fans.

Lego F1 Drivers’ Parade 2026 gets bigger and faster

For the Lego F1 Drivers’ Parade 2026, Lego has built 22 individual race cars, one for every driver on the Formula 1 grid.

Unlike the nearly full-scale Lego cars used in Miami last season, the new vehicles are closer in size to racing karts and can reach speeds of 15.5 mph, compared with 12.5 mph last year.

Each mini race car features:

• 28,000 Lego bricks
• Standard go-kart chassis and wheels
• Approximately 617 pounds of total weight
• Around 143 pounds made entirely from Lego bricks

The smaller design allows every driver to control their own car instead of sharing one with a teammate, creating more opportunities for fun battles around the parade lap.

Every Formula 1 driver will have their own Lego race car during the 2026 Drivers’ Parade.

Building on last year’s Miami success

The idea originated during the 2025 Miami Grand Prix, where Lego created ten nearly life-size Formula 1 cars.

Those impressive builds contained nearly 400,000 Lego pieces each, weighed more than 3,300 pounds, and featured real racing components, including Pirelli slick tires, allowing the cars to be driven around the circuit.

Following the overwhelmingly positive response from drivers and fans, Lego decided to expand the concept for 2026 by building individual vehicles for the entire Formula 1 grid.

The parade is scheduled to take place approximately two hours before Sunday’s British Grand Prix, giving fans another memorable moment before lights out.

The new Lego race cars are smaller, lighter and faster than last year’s versions.

Lego and Formula 1 continue strengthening their partnership

The Lego F1 Drivers’ Parade 2026 is another example of the growing collaboration between Formula 1 and Lego, a partnership that dates back more than two decades.

In addition to live events, Lego has expanded its Formula 1 product lineup with Speed Champions sets, Technic models and collectible kits representing all ten Formula 1 teams.

The expanded Drivers’ Parade highlights Lego’s growing partnership with Formula 1.

The return of the Lego F1 Drivers’ Parade 2026 shows how Formula 1 continues finding creative ways to engage fans beyond the racing itself. By combining interactive entertainment with one of the world’s most recognizable toy brands, the event has become a fan favorite before the lights go out on race day. With every driver now behind the wheel of their own Lego race car, this year’s Silverstone parade promises even more action, laughs and memorable moments before the British Grand Prix officially begins.