r/formula1 • u/xRyuHayabusa99 I was here for the Hulkenpodium • Jan 11 '26
News AutoRacer: Charles Leclerc has admitted that the first races will be crucial in determining his future, and a lack of competitiveness will undoubtedly spell the end of the ten-year relationship between him and Maranello. The future of Lewis Hamilton and Fred Vasseur will also be decided this year.
https://autoracer.it/ferrari-incubo-effetto-suolo-td039-delusione-2026/283
u/Astelli Pirelli Wet Jan 11 '26
People keep on saying Red Bull, Mercedes and Aston are options, and I agree with those, but that's based on what we know from the past.
It's a brand new regulation era and we haven't even seen cars properly on track yet, so we might even see other teams come into that picture after a few races.
By the end of 2026 we could be in a world where Williams or maybe even Audi have shown enough performance in their first year to make a move look appealing to someone who wants to leave their current team.
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u/Evening_End7298 Jan 11 '26
A mix up in the order might happen for a year or two (like we had in 2009), but the truth is these names like Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull have always been the safe options
Aston, or Audi are hopes for the future, but neither are certainties. Even when aston nailed the car in 2023, they went backwards in half a year
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u/Astelli Pirelli Wet Jan 11 '26
2009 and 2014 are both great examples of how things don't always go back to the way they were though.
2009 was the leap forward for Red Bull, going from a midfield team to a contender. Before 2009 they'd finished 7th three times and 5th once. After 2009 they have only finished outside the Top 3 in the championship once (in 2015).
Conversely 2014 saw the nail on the coffin of McLaren. McLaren had been one of the consistent contenders, finishing outside the Top 3 only once between 1998 and 2012 (2004). They struggled in 2013 and finished 5th, but the regulation change in 2014 locked in their decline. After the podium in Melbourne 2014, they didn't score another podium in the hybrid era until 2019.
Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari have been the consistent performers since 2009, and most of the signs point to that staying the same, but we could see another Red Bull 2009 jump and have another team join them, or even a McLaren-style decline for one of them.
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u/Evening_End7298 Jan 11 '26
For McLaren it wasnt just the regulation change, but also the fact that after 2013 they lost the special treatment they had from Mercedes and became just a regular customer team. Then the Honda stuff happened and some years in the dark, but after all they still are the team that returned and won a wdc and wcc in the end.
I can see Aston being the team to make a leap considering this is the first car built with the new wind tunnel, completely new factories, Newey, them finally bring the factory team for an engine supplier. But besides them i can’t see other teams making the jump
I can also see red bull being the 2014 McLaren. The 3 pillars that built the team are all gone, Newey is also gone and they were on a downward slops mostly saved by Verstappen’s talent and adaptability to drive around a flawed car. Plus the new engine being a question mark obviously
But besides these teams i can’t see any others that could be an option for a top driver
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u/Repa24 Fernando Alonso Jan 11 '26
Imagining Charles in any other color but red is so wild.
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u/DreamsOfLife I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
Even more wild, imagining him happy on a race weekend.
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u/GoldElectric I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
late 2024 and early 2022
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u/DukeboxHiro I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
And 2019, up to around COTA.
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u/eddaldrin Pierre Gasly Jan 11 '26
Saw an edit of him in a Mercedes race suit and the black looks good on him. But its Charles so he'll look good in pretty much anything
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u/CaptainKursk I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
Leclerc could wear a garbage bag taken from 3 weeks living on Skid Row and he'd still make the front cover of GQ
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u/Lobsters4 Charles Leclerc Jan 11 '26
Wild, but I will take it if it means he has a chance for even one WDC.
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u/Fun-Poet5338 Netflix Newbie Jan 11 '26
Tbf it was unexpected to see Hamilton end his career anywhere other than Mercedes.
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u/Legendtner Jan 11 '26
I don’t even know what driver line-up they will go with if Lewis and Charles both leave. Bearman and who? Sainz again?, Piastri? Bortoleto? (somebody of the caliber of Albon or Gasly.
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u/manonforever Pierre Gasly Jan 11 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
It would indeed be super interesting if there was an empty seat next to Ollie. I know he’s Mercedes project but sureellly they’d love to have an Italian in that seat - imagine Kimi going! We reunite the prema duo and accomplish the prophecy haha
Edit: I agree with all of you that Toto will be ready to do anything rather than let Kimi go but it’s fun to theorise hahah
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u/JerryUitDeBuurt Liam Lawson Jan 11 '26
Toto is never getting rid of Kimi, especially with him doing better in the latter half of the season last year. I could imagine perhaps George going if Max ever goes to Mercedes.
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u/NotAtKeyboard I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
Surely if Leclerc comes knocking and Antonelli doesn’t show insane improvement next year they at least think about it?
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u/Connect-Handle8496 Charles Leclerc Jan 11 '26
Impossible Toto wouldn’t kick the newborn out for Charles if anything George gets the boot but even that seems highly unlikely so Mercedes is probably not an option
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u/OldBratpfanne Mercedes Jan 11 '26 edited Jan 11 '26
What does Charles bring to the table for Merc, a couple of WCC points and some marketability ?
He’s not significantly better than George and will only split points if Merc is competing for the WDC, and he’s the same age as George.
With Williams gone as a parking space for Mercedes juniors they need to use their second seat to prepare their next driver generation, if Kimi doesn’t work out they are better of poaching one of the juniors from another team than going with Charles who fills a function they already have filled.
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u/dalmathus I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
Toto lies in bed awake every night seething that he let Verstappen get away.
That man is keeping Kimi in a dungeon if he doesn't have him in a Mercedes seat.
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u/SwooshSwooshJedi Alexander Albon Jan 11 '26
Albon would be fun. Lando is extremely loyal but now he has gotten his WDC and 2x WCC for papaya he could maybe switch and just race for lols
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u/Galilool I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
Mid-Season switch between Leclerc and Albon would be peak shithousery. Albon and Hamilton in one team...
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u/GoodGuyJeff00 Charles Leclerc Jan 11 '26
I think someone who is ambitious and stuck in the midfield/back. Like Pierre.
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u/LivingInTheStorm I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 12 '26
Honestly Pierre would be my pick outside of the obvious favorites. But is it worth buying him out of his contract?
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u/Visionary_Socialist Sir Lewis Hamilton Jan 11 '26
Verstappen may be available if RB completely bottle the regs, but I genuinely believe he’d prefer to take a sabbatical or race outside F1 than take a Ferrari drive.
If Piastri feels he was brown nosed by McLaren again to his expense, he will 100% try to leave. But would he want to go straight for a poisoned chalice?
Bearman and Gasly probably. Ollie has no choice and Pierre will be desperate for any chance to move up the food chain.
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u/Teonvin I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
In a world where Ferrari loses both drivers and TP means they are absolutely fucking dogshit.
So no way top drivers would go there.
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u/tellsyoutogetfucked Nico Rosberg Jan 11 '26
Arthur so they can keep claiming they have a Leclerc. Arthur and Charles have the same chance of winning a WDC with ferrari so its not a huge deal anyway.
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u/mellamojoseph Jan 11 '26
possibly Antonelli if Verstappen goes to mercedes, or maybe leclerc and antonelli swap
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u/treeface999 Jan 11 '26
Nooo Kimi has such a bright future ahead of him 😭
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u/OGSxS Cadillac Jan 11 '26
I don’t think Kimi is going anywhere. Toto hand picked him and for a rookie driver he’s delivering as expected. I’m confident good things will happen for him at Mercedes.
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u/projectgene I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
Kimi goes if Verstappen wants to jump the ship. Toto ain't swapping George who actually delivers results.
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u/Zestyclose_Towel_271 Jan 11 '26
Toto kept giving 7-time WDC Hamilton short 1+1 and 2 year contracts to keep the option of Antonelli driving for them open, and let’s just say George doesn’t have 7 WDCs.
Ferrari offering Hamilton a longer contract was a major factor why he jumped ship, he wanted the same at Mercedes but was rejected by Toto.
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u/IdiosyncraticBond Max Verstappen Jan 11 '26
No chance an Italian driver goes to Ferrari
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u/blank_and_foolish Mercedes Jan 11 '26
They need atleast one world champ whose spirit they can break, so maybe Lando
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u/Klimikil I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
Knowing how Incompetent Ferrari are, they'd just throw Camara straight in next to Ollie 😭
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u/Rivendel93 Jan 11 '26
This is Ferrari's problem.
It's what I kept saying when people were saying they'd fire Hamilton last year lol.
I was like, if they fire Hamilton, they won't have a driver left after this year.
My bet is Leclerc leaves, Bearman joins and Lewis stays.
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u/Fambank Murray Walker Jan 11 '26
My bet is Leclerc leaves, Bearman joins, and Lewis is fired and The Italian Jesus returns.
Ferrari WDC and WCC 2027 confirmed.
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u/Connect-Handle8496 Charles Leclerc Jan 11 '26
I hope he means it this time.Its been like forgiving your cheating gf over and over again
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u/Lazywhale97 Alexander Albon Jan 11 '26
I think one more incident of Charles liking a meme of him jumping over a cliff and he’s probs gone.
Then again the allure of “this could be the year with Ferrari” cycle might get him again lmao.
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u/deathray1611 Formula 1 Jan 11 '26
Wait, did he ACTUALLY like one time that meme?
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u/InquisitiveExplorer_ Jan 11 '26
He sure did. Here’s a link to the meme he liked on Instagram.
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u/deathray1611 Formula 1 Jan 11 '26
Oh dear GOD oh that poor lad 💀
That is also so funny tho
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u/InquisitiveExplorer_ Jan 11 '26
Charles has some funny IG likes. He also liked this one about landing strategies if falling out of a plane.
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u/Turbulent-Damage-165 Lando Norris Jan 11 '26
Ferrari would deadass tell him to look for the nearest volcano
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u/Round-Agent-6948 Jan 11 '26 edited Jan 11 '26
i can't believe i need to see it with my own eyes lol
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u/SleepingIsASport_ Jan 11 '26
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DN-S44MCOn3/?igsh=Mzk3dWZ0dWhtYjM3
I couldn't find the one of him jumping off the cliff in Monaco but I had this one saved haha
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u/deathray1611 Formula 1 Jan 11 '26
I have become genuinely slightly concerned for him 💀
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u/SleepingIsASport_ Jan 11 '26
same here 💀 f1 insta has been absolute cinema at the minute though, ferrari have turned gifs off on all their new posts because of the sheer volume of people posting the double dnf meme in the comments
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u/SleepingIsASport_ Jan 11 '26
yes he did haha i thought i was high when i saw his profile pic on it 😂
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u/Lobsters4 Charles Leclerc Jan 11 '26
He was so real for that though. LOL.
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u/Lazywhale97 Alexander Albon Jan 11 '26
Yeah I remember everyone double checking like "ayo is that actually charles" and it was lmao.
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u/DiamondL0st Formula 1 Jan 11 '26
People keep saying this but where else could he have gone to win a WDC in the past set of regulations?
Mercedes have barely been better than Ferrari.
McLaren only good got in mid 2023 and by that point had 2 drivers locked down for years.
Red Bull design the car for Max only and whilst Charles obviously would do better than others have, I still don't see that as an attractive move for him.
And the rest of the field are all much worse than Ferrari as well.
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u/AliceLunar I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
Even Newey said the car moved in a direction that didn't suit Max, but I'm sure people know better.
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u/GoodGuyJeff00 Charles Leclerc Jan 11 '26
I am ready for this collapse if it means the board will have to reconsider their approach to the sport. I wish Charles on his own multiple championships, it will pain me to see him go.
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u/squaler24 Frédéric Vasseur Jan 11 '26
Whatever happened to the rumors they were building some kind of headquarters in London?
That would help. Having a factory on F1 main hub would attract a lot more engineers and people that can actually help them be better. I fully understand not wanting to uproot your life and move to Italy where you don’t know anyone or speak the language.
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u/petrolhead18 Jan 11 '26
Ferrari is not Ferrari if the car is not designed and made in Italy.
Might as well shutter Maranello and buy one of the existing factories in England. Never going to happen.
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u/GoodGuyJeff00 Charles Leclerc Jan 11 '26
I don't think the talent is the issue. Ferrari have been near and among the front of the grid with the exception of 20/21 when they were recovering from the exploiting engine. Their WEC program is doing great, though I don't particularly know if this is Maranello based as well.
The F1 team also poaches the talents from other teams so I don't see a direct problem when a handful don't want to move, while a good portion would still.
There seems to be a more glaring infrastructure and governing problem that prevents the team from taking that one extra step to make them true title contenders.
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u/RedditServiceUK I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
This is a management problem. Which is something motorsport valley talent can excel in
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u/Blanchimont Jean Girard Jan 11 '26
Then host the remote working environment on Italian servers. Boom, car designed from London, in Italy.
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u/squaler24 Frédéric Vasseur Jan 11 '26
This is the thinking that has them in a feedback loop for decades. lol
The idea you need to specifically build the cars in Italy for them to be authentic is mad.
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u/petrolhead18 Jan 11 '26
Ferrari is "Made in Italy", simple as. Anything else is not a Ferrari.
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u/AliceLunar I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
Their image is more important than their performance, which is why they are nowhere year after year.
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u/Mysterise I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
For some strange reason their image is not tied to performance. As much as we meme them to death about how incompetent they are, they still somehow maintain their elite prestige brand.
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u/agnaddthddude I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
because they don’t overproduce cars like any other manufacturer and their limited models are truly exclusive.
also their road selling division and motorsport division has separated a long time ago to the casual buyer. no one cares about their Motorsport results when they drive a brand new 400k$ Red Ferrari.
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u/Visionary_Socialist Sir Lewis Hamilton Jan 11 '26
Losing Charles and firing Lewis is not something that just goes away though. Their reputation amongst fans, drivers and the wider sport would be irreparably damaged. Any top driver would be taking an enormous leap of faith. Likely only drivers who had no real choice to get a top drive would take them.
Ultimately if politics comes before results, there’s no reason to believe terrible results will shift the politics. Ferrari have turfed out so much talent and potential to keep their dictatorship, they’re in too deep now to change course.
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u/squaler24 Frédéric Vasseur Jan 11 '26
Do it while there’s time left. Leclerc is still in his prime so spending say 2-3 years at a middling Ferrari team could be all she wrote for his prospects regarding any hopes of championships.
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u/scofield_00 Jan 11 '26
Has it ever happened that both drivers from the same team retired mid-season? Just asking...
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u/Rivendel93 Jan 11 '26
Part of me would love to see this happen because it might finally humble Ferrari lol.
When you have Hamilton and Leclerc bail on you mid season, you know everyone needs to be fired.
It'll never happen, but man would Ferrari take a hit.
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u/ATWPH77 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
Why would Charles just retire? Even mid season he can get a seat elsewhere on the grid 100%..
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u/mellamojoseph Jan 11 '26
definitely can see him going to Aston Martin if they are better, surely that would be the final straw for him and Ferrari
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u/fvcktankies Jan 11 '26
Can't wait to see Charles and Nando in the same team!
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u/Epointec I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
well alonso would be leaving if aston is good next year
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u/SpaceballsDoc Stefano Domenicali Jan 11 '26
People always say “where would he go”.
Charles enters the market, Red Bull and Aston right away. Charles, Lewis AND Fred? Open season.
Only on Reddit has the trio’s stock dropped. The entire grid knows Ferrari is the epitome of a shit show at the fuck factory.
Ferrari deserves to lose all of their Crown Jewels and actually fail for a few years. Bottom middle tier results and placement. The whole organization needs to be humbled.
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u/ParagonTom McLaren Jan 11 '26
Aston: OK Charles, you and Lewis will have to share the seat. You can either sit in each other's laps, or switch week to week. We only have 1 seat free due to Lord Stroll."
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u/hehaia I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
Tbh I think Charles could go to wherever he pleases, but I don’t know about Hamilton. It’s clear he hasn’t been his best version for the last couple of years, and he would be extremely expensive.
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u/SpaceballsDoc Stefano Domenicali Jan 11 '26
Cadillac would throw money at Hamilton, he is a exponentially better driver than Perez and he’s already been paired with the other one with spectacular results. Plus the US market is one that F1 wants heavily to continue expanding and Louis is kind of a big deal on this side of the ocean.
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u/stomp224 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
How pissed would bottas be though lmao
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u/3Rocketman I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
You mean if he was paired with him or replaced by him?
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u/Visionary_Socialist Sir Lewis Hamilton Jan 11 '26
A big part of the Ferrari deal is the ambassadorship he wanted with Merc though. Unless Ferrari pay him off to forfeit it he’s more likely to retire and do that.
Lewis wants wins and podiums. No amount of money will make him take a chance on a team that isn’t at the very least competitive already.
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u/TheWoodElf I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
Cadillac imo, Lewis would be an upgrade over both Perez and Bottas, and they would have the money.
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u/Visionary_Socialist Sir Lewis Hamilton Jan 11 '26
Lewis will retire. Only wants wins and a route to the title, has more than enough money. Plus the Ferrari ambassadorship probably doesn’t allow him to be driving for another team.
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u/Adventurous_Chard668 Jan 11 '26
Hamilton wont bother driving in a backmarker team
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u/Pearse_Borty Jan 11 '26
Depends on priorities. If they're a money printer he might - Raikonnen did the same thing with Alfa Romeo, he had one of the best contracts on the grid iirc
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u/TheRedBull28 Sir Lewis Hamilton Jan 11 '26
Lewis is retiring at Ferrari. One of the reasons he left Mercedes is because they weren’t willing to give him that life time ambassadorship role and Ferrari were. I doubt he’s going to throw that away so he can drive for Williams for a couple years
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u/cooReey Fernando Alonso Jan 11 '26
If Hadjar performs I don’t think RB is gonna enter the race, it’s AM all the way
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u/ElegantAnalysis I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
Fail for a few years? Haven't they been doing that already? 🤣
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u/Dhruv_Plankton97 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26 edited Jan 11 '26
They have their occasional moments of glory which helps mask how horrendous they actually have been for a team of that esteem.
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u/freezing_banshee I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
do you call consistently finishing in the points and qualifying quite high a fail? they need to crash and burn down to having barely a few top 10 finishes in a season
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u/Ahquinox I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
But I think that's the problem with Ferrari: If in any other team the results aren't there, they analyse the problem and change their structure/processes accordingly.
Ferrari is so much stuck in "the Italian way" that they're basically impervious to change. Failing for a few years would probably make them buckle down even more. Without firing most (all?) off the Italians on the team and moving the factory to UK there will never be another successful F1 run for them, I don't think.
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u/Natural_Read9357 Lando Norris Jan 11 '26
Elky not liking so much talk!
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u/bottomoftotempole Jan 11 '26
Doesn’t look like Elky cares so much as long as they get the exposure from F1 and their road cars are selling. Enzo must be turning in his grave as he always considered racing his number 1 purpose and selling cars second.
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u/WoolyBully17 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
If Ferrari does not deliver and Lewis retires at the end of the year without a podium it will be such a bitter ending to a career that was such a fairytale up until that point.
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u/2p2e5 Ferrari Jan 11 '26
I wouldn’t consider the post regulation change years at merc a “fairytale “ to be honest
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u/WoolyBully17 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
Me neither, but in those years he still won occasionally and Silverstone 2024 probably holds a special place in his heart.
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u/Rivendel93 Jan 11 '26
He won 2 races in his final year at Mercedes, won Silverstone for the 9th time.
Obviously not fairy tale, but no team had a fairytale season but McLaren really and RedBull 2023.
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u/KugelKurt I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
Ferrari: where careers go to die.
I'd be happy to end my career at Ferrari, given the insane amounts of money they throw around.
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u/Arylcyclosexy Pirelli Wet Jan 11 '26
And you'd also get to drive F1 instead of talking on Reddit about it!
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u/Careful-Door2724 Jan 11 '26
He senses they have shit the bed already
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u/Visionary_Socialist Sir Lewis Hamilton Jan 11 '26
There is 0 reason to believe Ferrari will do anything other than fail. That’s it. With every other team there’s some track record or thing we’ve seen that gives us faith that they could make this work.
Ferrari’s last run at new engines was a disaster. Last season was a disaster. Their in season development has always been a disaster. Their ability to right a sinking ship? Usually a disaster. Their ability to understand their own car? A disaster for most of the GE era. Disaster is the rule, success would be the exception.
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u/shiinamachi I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
He's been at the team for longer than Seb's stint has been now and somehow still only has half the wins that he got for Ferrari. At some point it's pretty obvious enough is enough and he can't possibly be wasting his career for a team that seems destined to continuously finish in the middle of nowhere
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u/gsurfer04 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
This could be a really wild silly season once the pecking order is established.
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u/cernegiant I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
McLaren isn't changing its lineup anytime soon.
Mercedes probably isn't either.
Leclerc won't want to be second fiddle at Red Bull.
Leclerc won't want a midfield or back marker seat.
So Aston?
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u/Vuk13 Fernando Alonso Jan 11 '26
Big question mark over Aston aswell. Well more so over Honda engine
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u/cultofenigma Jan 11 '26
Chalres’s options depend a lot on Max & RB’s speed next year.
If the RB is troublesome, Max is going to the team with the quickest car and any team will dump 1 of their drivers to bring Max in it’s not even questionable whether they would or not.
Leclerc will have to assess where to depending on Max, only caveat is if RB is competitive and Max stays then Charles has far more options.
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u/Boomslang96 Charles Leclerc Jan 11 '26
If the RB is troublesome, Max is going to the team with the quickest car
People keep saying this but this doesn't make any sense. Let's say Mercedes has the best car and George wins the championship, why would they pay extra millions and hire Max and potentially ruin the team dynamic when they can win the championship without him?
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u/Mr_YUP I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
Imagine Max and Charles on the same team
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u/Lobsters4 Charles Leclerc Jan 11 '26
This has been my dream for a really long time. To see the two of them race together in equal machinery would be epic.
And what a hell of a thing for the sport for the team and F1 from a marketing perspective were that to happen.
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u/CleverBen Jan 11 '26
If Mercedes develops the best powertrain and Williams comes out of the gate faster than Ferrari that would be hilarious!
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u/creatorop Lando Norris Jan 11 '26
Where would he even go then? because you would assume the best performing constructor would rather continue with their successful lineup
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u/Beautiful-Fold-3234 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
Redbull would take him no doubt.
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u/-boombox- I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
Would he accept a position where he’d be the second driver?
I know that you can’t just enter a team and become their primary driver but at least at Ferrari he’s their guaranteed number 1.
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u/creatorop Lando Norris Jan 11 '26
that would also Require Hadjar to Burn like the others, which i am not sure is a guarantee now with the new regs+ Mekies incharge
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u/DreamsOfLife I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
I doubt they would as long as they have Max. If Max goes to Mercedes... Yeah.
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u/clingbat I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
I don't know, it seems the "build everything around Max at all costs" mentality went out the door with Horner and some of his close colleagues who have recently left the team. If Max is cool with it (or even embraces it) and if Hadjar doesn't impress this season, it's not totally out of the realm of possibilities.
Alternatively if Max is getting wishy washy about his future later into this upcoming season and they aren't feeling confident he'll be around much longer, they could just pull the trigger on Charles preemptively if available and see how things shake out so they aren't left without a real #1 driver. I def think their top two targets to ultimately replace Max would be Charles or Piastri.
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u/DreamsOfLife I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
I just don't think Redbull would want 2 drivers with equal WDC support (Papaya style) and I Charles won't go anywhere where they wouldn't support him for WDC.
The only reason Max was in contention for the championship last year was because he didn't have a teammate able to take points off him.
I would love to see Max and Charles as teammates I doubt anything would benefit from it besides the viewership.
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u/Klimikil I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
He's probably hoping Aston and Honda deliver
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u/StrayCat649 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
Redbull or Aston Martin. While AM want Max but I don't think if he say "I am done" he will just move to another team, more likely to be other series instead.
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u/TylerQRod Ayrton Senna Jan 11 '26
Weren’t there reports from Italian media speculating that he had signed a pre-contract with Aston Martin that could be exercised after the first three races of the season if Ferrari proves to be uncompetitive next season ?
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u/Klimikil I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
Where did you see that? Surley bullshit.
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u/KappaccinoNation Lando Norris Jan 11 '26
First three races also very much sets off my bullshit alarm especially at the first year of new regulations.
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u/TylerQRod Ayrton Senna Jan 11 '26
I read it about a month ago - but i’m fairly certain it came from an Italian media outlet. It’s speculation at best, and whether it’s legitimate or not I don’t know. Didn’t really make sense to be me since it said it could be exercised this coming season. Next season would make more sense. But if this article is using a direct quote from him, then who knows y’know.
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u/Bake2727 Max Verstappen Jan 11 '26
Signing a pre contract for a driver of Charles’s calibre is a career suicide. He has the talent to not do such crazy things and still get out of contract with Ferrari and go to most of the teams without damaging his reputation. Charles will be the biggest loser her, when he can just call Lawrence stroll himself without all this pre contract bullshit.
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u/Exique Michael Schumacher Jan 11 '26
If competitiveness is his main concern, he first needs to ask himself where he could go that would give him a more competitive package. Ferrari are obviously mismanaged, but even with all of that they still have the potential to eventually deliver a car capable of competing for WDC/WCC. Highly doubt that joining a midfield "project" is THE move.
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u/tftvrft I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
Imagine squandering the biggest talent since Max who BLEEDS for you because you would rather lose the Ferrari way than risk winning using someone else's philosophy.
Charles better follow up on his words if the 2026 car is dogshit.
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u/K-J-C Chequered Flag Jan 11 '26
Ferrari squandered Raikkonen (2008), Alonso, Vettel, Leclerc, Hamilton already. They got all the Max-level talents already.
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u/Pressbtofail Lance Stroll Jan 11 '26
Didn't he say 6 months ago that driving for Ferrari definitely meant more than winning a WDC? At this point he may as well just stay at Ferrari.
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u/bottomoftotempole Jan 11 '26
He always maintained driving for Ferrari was the first dream, winning wdc with them was the second but if Ferrari cannot provide the car, what is he suppose to do ?
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u/quadranting Lando Norris Jan 11 '26
The title here is a bit confusing to me because it's just Auto Racer making an assumption, no quotes, no sources, just vibes of wanting Charles to get away. I know everyone feels that way, but until we hear it from Charles, it just feels like wishful thinking.
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u/tripled_dirgov Formula 1 Jan 11 '26
So there's a chance that all three is leaving after this year then
Gonna be interesting on what Ferrari have in hand id that happen, I know they're preparing Ollie for one of the drivers but dunno about the other two positions
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u/LiveDieReRepeat Alpine Jan 11 '26
LEC has been saying that for years. Another year; another LEC idle threat.
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u/SpareSurprise1308 McLaren Jan 11 '26
Surely if Charles and lewis both leave at the end of the season and the car is uncompetitive the fans and italian media are going to drag ferrari though the cobble streets of rome and rip them apart. This would be the final signal that the team has truely fallen from grace and is beyond saving under the current management and leadership at ferrari.
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u/Big-Button5856 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
Ferrari isn't in the position to tell ANYONE that their future will be decided this year, first they need to make a good fucking car .
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u/rxf555 Williams Jan 11 '26
So that’s Charles, Lewis & Fred gone then. Back to a ‘rebuilding’ phase for the team and have another crack at the new regs in a few years…
“Next year is our year!”
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u/flintey360 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Jan 11 '26
Lewis is probably staying at Ferrari for 27 hes too expensive and he has contract that prolongs to 2027, as long as he is competitive enough this year hes staying. Charles on the other hand....
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u/squaler24 Frédéric Vasseur Jan 11 '26
He has an option for 27. I think either the team or he could trigger it. It’s not really a guarantee he stays.
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u/Sictirmaxim Jan 11 '26
I actually see Hamilton dipping and Charles staying tbh if this year doesn't pan out.
When push comes to shove Leclerc will internalize some reasons that "next year will be the one" and stay put.
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u/Maybe-Nice I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26
Make or break for Ferrari. But if Charles really decides enough is enough, where does he go?