Formula 1 News: Leclerc plays down Suzuka energy tweak impact

(GMM) Charles Leclerc (pictured) does not expect Formula 1’s new qualifying rule tweak to make a major difference, amid ongoing concerns about the 2026 regulations.

The FIA confirmed ahead of practice at Suzuka that the maximum permitted energy recharge for qualifying has been reduced from 9 megajoules to 8, in a bid to limit excessive lift-and-coast.

But Leclerc believes the change will have only a marginal effect.

“I don’t think it will be a game changer,” said the Ferrari driver. “I think it will be pretty much the same. Any improvement is positive, but some more adjustments are needed to give us the opportunity to go to the extreme in qualifying.”

After Melbourne, Leclerc had lamented that the 2026 rules had muted one of his renowned strengths of more traditional regulations eras – qualifying speed.

“In the first race weekends, it was more about managing certain things than we could go full steam ahead, like in recent years,” he now says at Suzuka.

“There’s more to look at. So I don’t think this change is a game changer.”

Leclerc says the core issue lies in the inability to push at the limit.

“Any solution that allows us to push to the maximum is good in my opinion,” he explained. “That’s what I love about this sport. In Q3 you feel the maximum pressure to perform and to drive a lap that you have not driven up to that point.”

“That’s not possible at the moment,” Leclerc continued. “The moment you do something you haven’t done before, the car tries to adapt to it, which ultimately makes you lose more than win. That is the biggest problem at the moment.”

While acknowledging the complexity of the issue, he says discussions are ongoing.

“The solution is very complex, but I know that everyone is thinking of ideas to find the best solution,” Leclerc said. “Hopefully we will come up with a good solution soon.”