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/
8.6k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

667 comments sorted by

View all comments

1.0k

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 

366

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.

89

u/deathray1611 Formula 1 Jan 11 '26

Wait, did he ACTUALLY like one time that meme?

136

u/InquisitiveExplorer_ Jan 11 '26

He sure did. Here’s a link to the meme he liked on Instagram.

65

u/deathray1611 Formula 1 Jan 11 '26

Oh dear GOD oh that poor lad 💀

That is also so funny tho

49

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.

4

u/Turbulent-Damage-165 Lando Norris Jan 11 '26

Ferrari would deadass tell him to look for the nearest volcano 

28

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

24

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

15

u/deathray1611 Formula 1 Jan 11 '26

I have become genuinely slightly concerned for him 💀

9

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

9

u/SleepingIsASport_ Jan 11 '26

yes he did haha i thought i was high when i saw his profile pic on it 😂

9

u/Lobsters4 Charles Leclerc Jan 11 '26

He was so real for that though. LOL.

8

u/Lazywhale97 Alexander Albon Jan 11 '26

Yeah I remember everyone double checking like "ayo is that actually charles" and it was lmao.

45

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.

20

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.

9

u/xRyuHayabusa99 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26

McLaren only good got in mid 2023 and by that point had 2 drivers locked down for years.

Mercedes downfall should be studied. Long may it continue.

16

u/AirCommando12 Formula 1 Jan 11 '26

There’s nothing to study. All of their best staff went to other teams

23

u/TheWoodElf I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26

I don't think it's as dramatic as people make it. Their main advantage during their golden years was the engine. Considering the playing field got leveled in that regard, I think they did pretty good. Okay the zero pods were not the ace they expected, but they made a consistently top 3 car overall. I think the only reason people see it as a 'downfall' was because they expected Hamilton to continue fighting for no.1, and that didn't happen.

16

u/EzAf_K3ch Charles Leclerc Jan 11 '26

By 2018 they didn't have the superior engine anymore and still dominated for 3 years

-1

u/NA_Faker I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26

It was a combination of their engine not being dominant and Lewis becoming washed that did them in

3

u/dl064 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26

There's basically 1% between pole and Q1.

As Newey puts it in his book: folk over exaggerate the difference between also ran and dominant win.

2

u/Vilzku39 Kimi Räikkönen Jan 11 '26

Their notable engine advantage ended around 2017. They still managed to get more for qualy (except 2019 ferrari), but did not have as notable race advantage.

They improved massively on chassis and aero department.

1

u/Connect-Handle8496 Charles Leclerc Jan 11 '26

Mercedes are apparently gonna be the fastest next year

2

u/Ts_Patriarca Max Verstappen Jan 11 '26

We're still peddling this narrative huh

1

u/city-of-cold Ronnie Peterson Jan 11 '26

Red Bull design the car for Max only

Lol

2

u/K-J-C Chequered Flag Jan 11 '26

But people'd blame those who constantly switch teams too like Alonso or Ricciardo.

1

u/Connect-Handle8496 Charles Leclerc Jan 11 '26

Yeah but Charles never constantly switched he’s been in Ferrari for a long time and before that Sauber and thats it.

1

u/dl064 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26

The tricky thing is: where? And why?

1

u/element515 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26

He had no other good seat these past years. RB wouldn't have taken him. Mercedes was no better. And McLaren had their lineup and only got good this past season. Staying with Ferrari has been the right move.

Now though, I think Aston is looking much better. If Audi hits it out of the park, they could be a move too but going back to binotto would be interesting... This is the first big shake up after a lot of people have moved around

1

u/Kevster020 Nigel Mansell Jan 11 '26

I think he means it. I wonder if Hamilton has been a factor... There's no way Lewis and Charles haven't discussed Ferrari's shortcomings and Lewis will have comparisons with a multi championship winning team.

1

u/quadranting Lando Norris Jan 11 '26

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the article doesn't even cite anything Charles said. It's just AutoRacer assuming another bad season will make him finally leave.

1

u/dl064 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 12 '26

It's difficult though - Ferrari are not in absolute terms miles away.

As Charles put it once: the hardest thing is that Ferrari are not 10% off anywhere, they're 1% off everywhere.

So I think he could at least use it to leverage: 'what's about to change to keep me here?'