F1 News: Why leaving Ferrari would ruin Charles Leclerc's chances of a title

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Japan, 2026 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Why leaving Ferrari would ruin Leclerc's chances of an F1 title

Leclerc recently re-signed with Ferrari

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Thursday 11 June 2026 13:02

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F1 stars are often tempted to chase titles with the best performing team, but Charles Leclerc's recent decision to stick with Ferrari has been praised by a champion of the sport.

Ahead of his home race at the Monaco Grand Prix, it was announced that Leclerc had extended his contract with Ferrari in a fresh multi-year deal, suspected to last into the 2030s.

However, the fact of the matter remains that in his eight seasons with Ferrari, Leclerc has never been in a championship fight. The last time he won a race was at the 2024 United States Grand Prix, and this season his seven-time world champion team-mate Lewis Hamilton is posing more of a threat than ever.

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After a late crash denied him a podium finish in Monaco, Leclerc delivered a palpably frustrated interview, where he was more annoyed at the team and the brakes on his car than his own performance.

Nonetheless, Leclerc has chosen Ferrari as his home while he remains in the prime of his career, and there is one F1 champion that believes this will benefit the Monegasque star.

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Has Leclerc made the right decision with Ferrari?

When you look at some of the most successful modern Formula 1 drivers, such as Hamilton or Max Verstappen, much of their success has come with the same team. Hamilton has only raced with three F1 teams in a career that has spanned two decades, while Verstappen has remain steadfastly loyal to Red Bull.

On the flip side, two-time champion Fernando Alonso has been on the driver market merry-go-round far more frequent than he would like, having changed teams on six occasions after he left Renault in his title winning year of 2006 six.

Speaking to F1.com, the 1998 and 1999 world drivers' champion Mika Hakkinen correlated stability in one team with success, and suggested that drivers who are constantly moving teams have struggled.

Hakkinen commented on Leclerc's contract extension, and said: “I think Charles is a great personality. He's a great racing driver, he's in a good team and going through for the future, I'm confident he can [succeed].

“But if you want to be a winner, if you want to win a World Championship, keep your life simple. Don't make it too complicated!

“What happens very often for drivers who have been with a team two, three years and there's no success, they are still in a feeling that they are the best; that the problem is not you, it's about the team.

“When the drivers start changing teams too often, you never can find the stability. People don't learn to understand who you really are, what is required, what kind of car is required for this talented driver to really perform at 100 per cent.

“Then they start swapping different teams and nobody ever learns who you really are.”

F1 Ferrari Charles Leclerc Mika Hakkinen