Charles Leclerc will be ‘helped massively’ by his Formula 1 British Grand Prix win, according to Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur.
Leclerc had endured a difficult string of results before heading into the race weekend at Silverstone.
But a strong start off the line, pipping pole-sitter Andrea Kimi Antonelli, and a steady head, for 52 laps, whilst his rivals struggled behind him saw the Monegasque take his maiden win of the 2026 season, at the chequered flag.
And while a fortuitous turn of events, including the race ending behind the Safety Car, aided Leclerc’s race, the Ferrari driver seemed in complete control of his SF-26 perhaps for the first time, this season.
Looking back on the result, Vasseur theorised that it was only a matter of having confidence in the car, its setup, and his abilities that allowed Leclerc to break his streak of underwhelming races.
“He found the confidence. That’s it,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“Each step of setup is not making a proper difference in terms of lap time, but sometimes, it’s giving them confidence to push a bit more.
“And for race pace, it’s crucial. He was very consistent all throughout the race. If you have a look at the first 20 laps, he was within one or two tenths, and he was key for us to be in the fight with Mercedes.”
Mid-way through the season, the Frenchman believes that Leclerc’s breakthrough has come at the most apt of times.
“Well, I think the result is the best boost of the confidence that he can have,” he added.
Ferrari explores factors exacerbating Charles Leclerc’s F1 woes
Leclerc was visibly struggling in comparison to his team-mate Lewis Hamilton in the early phases of the season – at least in terms of extracting pure pace from his package.
But from Monaco onwards, the 28-year-old hit somewhat of a brick-wall apropos his luck. He crashed out of his home race, before meeting the barriers once again in Barcelona.
Amid adapting to a brake system change, Leclerc took the chequered flag, at the Red Bull Ring, in eighth despite a front-row start after a mid-race incident with Oscar Piastri left him with a broken front-wing.
Vasseur believes that an underlying lack of confidence, arising out of a constant need to adapt to the ever-changing car concept and his brake issues, all spiralled into a spell of bad results for Leclerc.
“Also, as we are developing the car from the beginning of the season, we will need to re-adjust the setup each time,” Vasseur explained.
“Charles, on top of that, he had the change of brakes a couple of races ago, [so] you have to reshape everything a little bit.
“But it was not just a matter of performance. Performance was there, I think it was more a matter of confidence, and this will help him massively.”
Leclerc would hope to continue this uptick in form heading into the Belgian GP weekend – the venue of his maiden F1 win back in 2019.
READ MORE – Charles Leclerc opens up on mentality following long-awaited Silverstone success
Originally published by motorsportweek.com —
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