Charles Leclerc has conceded F1 teams face an uphill task to compete with Red Bull before the introduction of new regulations in 2026. The sport will usher in a new era of engine regulations with a view to its environmental goals as well as welcoming in new manufacturers in Audi and the return of Honda in an official capacity. Rules and regulations will remain largely stagnant until those changes are made, leading to concerns over the potential extended dominance of Red Bull. Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez have secured all 12 race victories between them this term, as well as the three Sprint races held so far to all but confirm the destination of the Constructors' standings with 10 events still to go. Ferrari, Mercedes and Aston Martin have been joined by McLaren in the battle for best of the rest and asked if he believed the Scuderia could bridge the gap to Red Bull, Leclerc told media including RacingNews365.com : "That is what we are trying to work towards. "But they have a very big margin and it is going to be difficult to catch them before the change of regulations."
We have a lot of work to do
On why the gap presents such a difficult challenge for the chasing pack, Leclerc explained: "I just think it is different to in the past. "In qualifying, we are much closer than we have seen in the past. "Normally, we see a team dominate in both qualifying and the race but now, for some reason, the gaps are much bigger in the race than in qualifying. "That is why we are all working towards our race pace because Red Bull is so far ahead. "We have a lot of work to do, we have some improvements in the next few races that can help us do a step forward, but also with this car we can have some unexpected surprises. "The cars are so sensitive that a small change can have a big influence and hopefully that can be the case going forward."
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