Charles Leclerc needed a response against excelling Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton. That arrived at Silverstone as he won the British Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
But while results had been lacking for Leclerc<\/a> recently, the faith of Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur was unwavering. Ferrari could see in the data that Leclerc\u2019s pace was there and this was validated after his British GP victory.<\/p>\n Charles Leclerc \u2018data\u2019 ensured continued Ferrari faith<\/p>\n Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for news you can trust.<\/p>\n Leclerc comfortably won the Ferrari intra-team battle in 2025, seeing off seven-time world champion Hamilton after his blockbuster arrival in Maranello.<\/p>\n But Hamilton has turned the tide in F1 2026. A collapse in form for Leclerc, and costly errors in Monaco and Barcelona, had him on the ropes, feeling disconnected with the Ferrari SF-26.<\/p>\n Something changed at Silverstone. The feeling was back for Leclerc, who secured a front row start and went on to win the British GP, opening his account for F1 2026 and launching a timely counter attack against his teammate.<\/p>\n The alarm had been raised and Vasseur alerted, but the Ferrari boss had reason in the data to maintain belief in Leclerc. The Monegasque has re-paid Vasseur\u2019s faith.<\/p>\n \u201cI was not fully aligned with the question that I had for the weekend, and even last weekend,\u201d Vasseur told PlanetF1.com and others at Silverstone as he reflected on the noise surrounding Leclerc\u2019s recent struggles.<\/p>\n \u201cFor us, his data, we were not negative.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat was tough for him was the lack of points, the lack of results. We had the reliability issue in Barcelona. He had the poor start yesterday [in the Sprint]. It means that you are not putting things together and the others are scoring points.<\/p>\n \u201cBut in terms of performance, as I said in the press conference [on Friday at Silverstone], I was still optimistic with Charles, because we saw in the data that he was there. He was always there in the overlaps, and it\u2019s paying off today.\u201d<\/p>\n Leclerc had spoken of facing two options to escape his rut. Follow Hamilton\u2019s setup, or \u201cstick with what I know worked in the past and try to find a way around with the car, and with every tool that I have available inside the car.\u201d<\/p>\n Leclerc went for option two and it \u201cdefinitely worked out.\u201d<\/p>\n Vasseur believes that confidence was the main sticking point for Leclerc.<\/p>\n More on Charles Leclerc from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n Charles Leclerc calls out \u2018narratives being created\u2019 after comeback British GP win<\/a><\/p>\n Charles Leclerc Ferrari breakthrough at British GP as new goal set<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI think the result of today is the best boost of confidence that he can have at first,\u201d said Vasseur.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was not just a matter of performance, the performance was there. I think it was more a matter of confidence.<\/p>\n \u201cHe found the confidence that each step of setup is not making a proper difference in terms of lap time, but sometimes it\u2019s giving them confidence to push a bit more. For race pace, it\u2019s crucial. Today he was very consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n Leclerc is up to P4 in the Drivers\u2019 Championship<\/a> after Silverstone. He has reduced his deficit to Hamilton to 39 points.<\/p>\n Additional reporting by Thomas Maher<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n