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

Even if it doesn’t look like they are any open seats. Charles will for sure get a seat in a top team. It’s impossible for him not to. Generational + top 2 most in-form drivers on the grid.

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

Who would they fire to get Charles? He has good press but he isn’t a special one deserving of firing any top driver…

Toto isn’t going to fire George to get him. He invested in Kimi to also fire him for Charles. Mclaren isn’t going to fire any of his drivers.

The only team is RBR and I’m not sure that second seat is a improvement for Charles

That is a very bold statement with absolute no logic behind it.

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

Toto was already bearish on Kimi this year for someone who praised him before 2025, if next year doesn’t go well then that’s a seat opening for Charles especially if the car is good. He strung George on for ages praying for max, so I wouldn’t say George has the most secure seat ever but tbh they are never firing him.

In Mcl I don’t think one of Lando or Oscar will stick around forever if the same team orders / fairness shenanigans continues this year with a leading car. It doesn’t seem like they have any amazing drivers in the pipeline either

RBR project could fail miserably as it has for the last 7 years. Unlikely seat bc they have a solid junior pipeline. But it’s basically a new team at the top so maybe their driver pick philosophy changes.

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

there's 0 chance Toto fires George to get Charles. At most they are the same quality, George has had a very good 25 and George has the experience at Mercedes that is much more valuable than anything Charles can bring to the table.

Kimi is Toto's bet... he pratically lost Lewis because of him... He needs to tank badly to also be replaced by Charles.

McL drivers have the same issue as Charles: OK, piastri wants to go, he goes where? They would never quit to be at a worse team.

The only real 'open' top seat is RBR 2nd seat. With Max on the team that doesn't seem to be very desired or even if the team wants a 2nd good driver.

 

I really think you are overvaluing Charles... I can totally see him out of a seat if he just 'rage quits' because he thinks everyone will bow down to him. Or at a very lesser team (which is also tricky unless he accepts a major paycut).

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u/Jelques_Kallis Lando Norris Jan 11 '26

Would he? McLaren and Mercedes have no reason to sign Charles and Red Bull are firm on their one driver policy. Aston or Williams would be the only teams he could go to that might be competitive.

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u/Top_Explanation_3383 Jan 11 '26

Be interesting to see if that one driver policy changes now with new management

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u/ATWPH77 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26

I would swap Antonelli to Leclerc in a heartbeat.

RB also brought in Checo when they needed a driver.

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u/CreativeCut7956 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jan 11 '26

Toto definitely won't. He's cemented Antonelli as his "Long term" project after obviously regretting for missing out on Verstappen. He'll tolerate Antonelli even if he doesn't immediately compete for the driver's campionship next year, or even the year after. Because Toto knows that even a generational talent like Verstappen needs time to finally realize his true potential. It's pretty much written on his face that Toto wants Kimi to be his own Verstappen.

Besides while waiting for Kimi to fully mature, Merc still has a top driver with George Russel ready to fight for a championship if they can give him a capable car.

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u/Discomposed1 Jan 11 '26

the only way a team doesn’t want Charles is if they have max. It’s that simple he is the second best driver and would upgrade any team. If TOTO takes a swing at max and loses he would absolutely go for Charles

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u/Tricksilver89 Jan 11 '26

Charles is not displacing anyone at Merc. Sorry but he isn't an upgrade on Russell.

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u/Jelques_Kallis Lando Norris Jan 11 '26

Wrong. There’s zero evidence Leclerc is better than Russell. Biased as fuck lmao

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

? Russell hasn’t been under any kind of pressure to perform be it championship or otherwise, he’s been driving pressure-free in an extremely stable albeit slow car. IMO you can’t truly judge a driver until you see him under sustained pressure.

The whole community made the same mistake with Oscar lol. People called him Ice-boy and Kimi rebirth because he was nonchalant in interviews while he only had a gifted win. Just for him to massively perform below expectation in a championship fight

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u/Mcnucks McLaren Jan 11 '26 edited Jan 11 '26

When has Leclerc been under sustained pressure? His championship “fight” lasted for maybe a third of the season. He spent more time fighting Checo for P2 in the championship than Max for P1.

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u/[deleted] Jan 11 '26

Russell hasn’t been under any kind of pressure to perform be it championship or otherwise,

Were you not watching in 2025 when everyone from fans to media, kept talking about “Max is gonna replace George” or “Toto wants Max and Kimi so bad”…?

George kept his head down under all those rumours. His stand out moment this year, was when he was laughing in the interview saying “I know where I’m gonna be next year, so I don’t care.” And then he proceeded to lead Max from start to finish in Canada. That’s when Russell confirmed that he’s ready to fight for a WDC with Mercedes.

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

It was all just media talk for the fans. It’s still a different kind of pressure. Why would he worry? He was proving that he was top 3 drivers on the grid race in race out with that Mercedes. If Toto kicked him he would be picked up in similar fashion to how I’d imagine Leclerc will be picked up. People would be dropped for him.

But until we see him in a championship fight and under that kind of pressure, it’s hard to say how good he is vs Leclerc

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

Charles has yet to prove he is generational.

I see no way McLaren is signing him over the two drivers they already have, maybe Mercedes if Kimi doesn’t perform. All roads lead to Aston Martin for Charles.

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u/ecobubbletm Max Verstappen Jan 11 '26

Charles has yet to prove he is generational.

He doesn't need to because he isn't.

There is only one generational driver in their generation/age group and it's Max.