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Ferrari star racer Charles Leclerc has been linked with a possible move away from the Maranello-based team, with Aston Martin, Mercedes, and even McLaren emerging as potential destinations. Amid this, McLaren icon Mika Hakkinen recently came up with an unusual take, suggesting the Monegasque will continue with Ferrari.
Charles Leclerc joined Ferrari in 2019 as the young rcer seen as the next F1 champion for the Scuderia. However, in the past seven years, the Italian side has failed to give a single title-worthy car to the Monegasque. The same has led to frustrations for the 27-year-old, whose camp has reportedly been in talks with several teams.
Reports of the Monegasque being in discussions with Aston Martin and Mercedes started circling the paddock a couple of weeks ago. The latest updates suggest that a direct swap with Oscar Piastri at McLaren is also a possibility, which is on the board for the Ferrari star.
Amid all of this, Former F1 champion Mika Hakkinen, who clinched titles in 1998 and 1999 with McLaren, in an interview with Fancode, detailed how waited for many years at McLaren before the side delivered a good enough car for winning the championship. He expects Charles Leclerc to follow the same route, and stay with Ferrari.
“His management is thinking very hard about what is happening and what’s going to happen in the future. From my personal experience, I never gave up. I was very loyal to McLaren, with the management being able to convince me that ‘Mika, just wait, when we get all the aspects correct in the team, you will win. Let’s work hard. It doesn’t matter if it takes 1-2-3 years. Let’s just go for it.’ It worked on my personal commitment. It’s going to work with Leclerc and Ferrari,” said Mika Hakkinen
Charles Leclerc gives reality check on Ferrari
Ferrari has not won a single race so far in the season (except for Hamilton's P1 during the sprint in China), and while they did sit in the second spot of the Constructors' Championship up until Baku, they dropped to third as Mercedes showcased improved performance.
The Singapore Grand Prix was yet another point of disappointment for the Italian team, as Charles Leclerc faced struggles to perform any overtake and defend against Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes.
"It's tough, it's very tough. We are not strong at the moment and we are struggling massively with the car. It's not easy," Leclerc said after the race.
He further said that the chances of the car improving in the remaining season are quite low, and revealed that no big upgrades are expected to come this year.
"I wish I could say that I'm positive for the rest of the season, I don't think there's anything in the car that proves to me that we are going to do a step forward. I think this is the reality of our situation at the moment. I don't quite know how to turn that situation around because we don't have new parts or anything coming to the car."
Both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton faced numerous challenges with the car in Singapore. While the latter faced a brake failure in the final laps, Leclerc faced issues of his own.
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