Charles Leclerc/Ferrari ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix: How he plans to keep beating Hamilton

Charles Leclerc and the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps are a perfect match. The Monegasque driver loves the flowing layout of the track and the balancing act required in the fast corners of this historic circuit. He won his first Grand Prix in Belgium and secured three of his 27 pole positions here; only in Baku has he started from pole more often (four times). Leclerc has stood on the podium five times, most recently in 2025 when he finished third behind the McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

Only four circuits in today’s World Championship calendar were already on the schedule for the first F1 World Championship season in 1950 – Silverstone, Monaco, Spa-Francorchamps and Monza. Leclerc has since won at each of these circuits, most recently in England at the start of July.

The 28-year-old Monegasque is feeling a renewed sense of confidence: “I’m really glad things are going better again, because for far too long I lacked the right feeling in the car. Now I’m slowly getting back to the level I expect of myself.”

“I’ve been working very hard behind the scenes with my team to get back into that comfort zone behind the wheel. I was second fastest in qualifying in Austria, but the feeling wasn’t quite right yet. In England, though, it was.”

“When things weren’t going so well over the past few months, I took a close look at everything – the car’s handling as well as my driving style. That’s now starting to pay off.”

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17.07.2026 - 13:15

Ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, the driver with 180 Grand Prix starts to his name says: “My main goal in Belgium will also be to find the right feel in the car. If I manage that, then I can exploit the car’s full potential. We’d expected a very difficult weekend at Silverstone, but things went better than expected. Perhaps we’re closer than we originally thought. We’ll learn more about that in Belgium.”