The words of the Ferrari driver
Toto Wolff and Frederic Vasseur have defined the first laps of the 2026 Australian GP as the most spectacular of the last 10 years. Thanks above all to Charles Leclercwho with a much better start than the cars surrounding him took the lead, responding blow for blow to George Russell’s attack attempts.
The Mercedes wall then decided to exploit the Virtual Safety Car forced by Isack Hadjar’s technical knockout to make the pit stop. Ferrari didn’t do the same and therefore essentially Russell overtook Leclerc in the pits to fly towards success in the Australian GP.
When asked about the validity or otherwise of the new 2026 rules and what the racing tactics consequently are, Charles Leclerc responded as follows: “The new rules must be given some time before reaching conclusions – the words of the Ferrari driver in the press conference – I just think it will definitely change the way we approach racing and overtaking. Previously it was more a question of who was the bravest to brake at the last moment. Maybe now there is a little more strategy behind every move you make, because every time you activate the boost button, you know that you will pay the consequences later, and therefore you have to think carefully about every move. Definitely a different way of approaching races.”
