Charles Leclerc downplayed suggestions Ferrari’s strategy cost him victory at the opening round of the 2026 season in Australia, saying he has “no regrets” about the decision not to pit under a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) early in the race.
The Ferrari driver finished Sunday’s race in third place behind race winner George Russell and Kimi Antonelli in second, but was leading the two Mercedes drivers in the opening stages.
Leclerc made a strong start from fourth on the grid to beat Russell into the first corner before the two drivers traded the lead seven times in the opening nine laps.
A VSC caused by Isack Hadjar’s Red Bull stopping at the side of the track on lap 11 provided the field with a golden opportunity to make a pit stop while minimising lost time at a reduced race pace.
The Mercedes drivers took up the opportunity from second and fourth place, but Leclerc in first and teammate Lewis Hamilton in third stayed out on track.
A second chance to pit under a VSC came on lap 18 when Valtteri Bottas’ Cadillac stopped near the pit lane entrance, but both Ferraris passed up their first opportunity to take advantage and by the time they came to the pit lane entrance on the next lap it had been closed to allow marshals to push the Cadillac away.
That left Ferrari with no choice but to make its pit stops at full racing speed, meaning Leclerc was shuffled back to third when he finally came in on lap 26.
Asked if he missed a shot at victory by not pitting under one of the VSCs, Leclerc said: “I don’t think so, but maybe I’m wrong.
“It looked like these guys [Mercedes] maybe had a bit more pace than us today, but maybe not as much as what we saw yesterday [in qualifying]. So, that’s a good thing, but I don’t think we could have won.”
Leclerc was asked about the decision again during a press conference an hour later but still defended Ferrari’s strategy, saying it was a calculated risk that failed to pay off.
“I mean I don’t regret it,” he said. “It was a wanted and conscious choice.
“Looking at from FP1 to now there’s been at every session a car that was stopped, at least one car. We knew that there were very high chances that this was not going to be the only VSC of the race and so we thought that it was better for us to maybe wait for another one, and that’s always a gamble.
“Of course, we didn’t know that this would happen. Reality is we’ve had other VSC after and one which was particularly well placed but unfortunately for this one for us the pit entry was closed and we couldn’t take it.
“So we were a little bit unlucky on that side but it was a conscious choice again and I don’t really regret it.”
