Formula 1 News: Leclerc loyal but in career crisis

(GMM) As Ferrari’s focus this season has often been on Lewis Hamilton’s difficult transition, Christian Danner believes the team’s consistent top performer – Charles Leclerc (pictured) – could himself be in the midst of a career crisis.

Danner, a former F1 driver turned German television pundit, told motorsport-magazin.com: “Of course, Leclerc is thinking about whether his life as a driver, his career at Ferrari, will take him where he wants to go: the championship. He’s definitely questioning that. I’m convinced he’s also asked himself this year: my God, what am I even doing here? It’s going to be nothing again.”

Polesitter #16 Charles Leclerc, (MON) Scuderia Ferrari SF25, during the Hungarian GP, Budapest 31 July-4 August 2025. Formula 1 World Championship 2025.

The Monegasque has often shown visible frustration, but remains loyal to Ferrari as the Italian team again looks set to end the season second-best – with another title shot slipping away.

“Leclerc is intelligent and a calm, analytical type,” Danner said. “What are the alternatives? Well, under certain circumstances, Mercedes. What Russell can do, Leclerc can do.

“Red Bull is in the midst of an ultimate technical fiasco, and of course, he has to deal with Max Verstappen, at least in the short term. At McLaren, it’s clear everyone would want to go there, but is he needed there? I’d say no. That means the alternatives simply aren’t there. Leclerc needs to focus on what he has.”

After pole in Hungary, Leclerc admitted a race win in 2025 is unlikely. “I don’t think there’s one track at the moment where we think we are stronger than McLaren,” he said. “For now, I don’t think there’s any tracks where I go to and think we will be the favorites, but I hope I’ll be surprised.”

Editor’s Note: Designer Rob Marshall made the Red Bull unbeatable, and when he was poached away by McLaren, he has now made the McLaren unbeatable.

There are now even suggestions Ferrari could be better off finishing third this season to secure more wind tunnel time for the 2026 rules reset.

But Leclerc says that’s not how he approaches racing. “I’m pretty sure it’s better to finish second than third,” he insisted.

“However, as you said, there’s also the wind tunnel time. This is not something we think of too much. When we are on track, we just want to finish as high up as possible and then we’ll deal with whatever amount of hours in the wind tunnel we have.

“We want to target the highest possible. Second place in the constructors’ is one of our targets, but the biggest target is to come back to winning races as soon as possible. Wherever we finish, we’ll work from there and see how many hours we have next year.”