Charles Leclerc: setting up the bend

SportLocation Formula 1 Desk · 2 Oct 2026

The turn is the defining moment in this onboard run: place the car for the curve, and the track can begin to open out again.

Charles Leclerc’s onboard run is at its most revealing as the circuit arcs ahead. The red nose and front tyres stay centred while the road bends away, making the line through the corner the focus.

There is no need to force a dramatic overtake into the sequence. Its interest is in the transition: the curve sets the car’s direction, then the road opens into a broad stretch. The corner is not an isolated flourish; it shapes what follows.

That is the small calculation at the heart of a lap. A bend asks for a clean approach and a line that lets the car carry on down the track. Here, the changing shape of the circuit supplies the story.