Charles Leclerc: Madrid qualifying to be "one of the most challenging" in F1 2026
· Yahoo Sports
Charles Leclerc reckons qualifying at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix will be “one of the most challenging” of the 2026 Formula 1 season as drivers adapt to the new Madrid circuit.
Visit saltysenoritaaz.com for more information.
The Madring has replaced Barcelona as the host of the Spanish Grand Prix and it is a high-commitment street circuit featuring 22 corners, including the 13.5-degree banked La Monumental curve.
Several drivers have spoken positively about the track after Friday practice, but the paddock is eagerly awaiting qualifying with George Russell labelling it as a “very high risk circuit”.
Leclerc, meanwhile, said: “The track is very exciting. It's very exciting, it's very challenging, and it's a street track as well.
“So these are the tracks that I normally quite enjoy, and there's no exception to that. It was really nice to be driving on this new track.
“There's still a lot of work to be done, and I expect it to be one of the most challenging qualifying sessions of the year, being such a commitment track.”
What happens on Saturday is therefore expected to be of more importance than many other circuits due to Madrid’s tight nature and combined brake-and-turn corners.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari“Qualifying is for sure going to be the key moment of the weekend,” Leclerc added, “because particularly in FP2, I tried to overtake, but even with the large pace delta, it was extremely difficult or impossible to overtake.
“So most of the performance this weekend will be based on the qualifying.”
It remains to be seen how Leclerc will fare though after he respectively finished third and second in FP1 and FP2, 0.459s and 0.113s off Mercedes pacesetters Russell and Kimi Antonelli.
“The feeling was pretty good, but it's true that Mercedes seems to be strong,” said the Ferrari driver.
“However, we don't really focus on what P1 says today [Friday], because we don't know what the others are doing with their run plan for us.
“It was all about trying to maximise laps on the new track, to try and make sure that we have as many data as we want, and for us to be also at ease with the track coming tomorrow in qualifying.
“But I think we did a good work today, and we'll see tomorrow in qualifying.”
Photos from F1 Spanish GP - Saturday
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton, FerrariBryn Lennon / Formula 1 via Getty Images
Oliver Bearman, Haas
Oliver Bearman, HaasJayce Illman / Getty Images
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen, Red Bull RacingJayce Illman / Getty Images
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso, Aston MartinAlex Bierens de Haan / LAT Images via Getty Images
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, MercedesBryn Lennon / Formula 1 via Getty Images
Fans show their support in the fan zone
Fans show their support in the fan zoneBryn Lennon / Formula 1 via Getty Images
Read Also: What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 F1 Spanish GPTo read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.