Italian media predict Leclerc Ferrari departure – Charles Leclerc was seen as a rising Formula One star when after just a single season with Sauber he was recruited to the most iconic of Formula One teams, clearly a dream start for the Monegasque to his F1 career. Yet now in his seventh season with the Maranello squad, all the history and success the Scuderia have had is not falling in his direction.
2025 was to be a year of promises fulfilled given after the summer break last year whilst Lando Norris hunted down Max Verstappen it was Leclerc who scored more points than anyone between Zandvoort and Abu Dhabi. Yet for some inexcusable reason, in the final year of the current car design regulations Ferrari decided not to evolve but to revolutionise their F1 challenger building the SF-25 which was “99% new” according to team boss Fred Vasseur.
The most visible change compared to its predecessor was the switch from pushrod to pull rod front suspension, the justification for which was to “clean up the airflow around the car” which would also provide “greater scope for further aero development, which had pretty much been exhausted with the previous iteration,” said Loic Serra – the teams technical director.
Ferrari inexplicable decision
Having closed the gap to McLaren from 79 to just 14 points across the final six rounds of 2024, hopes were high that Leclerc and Ferrari would deliver something special this season. Now with sixteen rounds of the campaign complete, Leclerc and Ferrari are still awaiting their first win and with just five podiums to show for their efforts with two thirds of the schedule complete, the Italian media are consigning Ferrari’s efforts to a bin marked “failure.”
Further the chatter is growing about Leclerc’s future with the Scuderia as La Gazzetta reports after the team’s podium less home race, “a competitive Ferrari under the new regulations is the only real guarantee of holding on to Charles Leclerc in the long run.” As with the much reported Max Verstappen contract with Red Bull the Monegasque driver has the usual exit clauses linked to performance despite having signed a long term deal with the team in 2024.
The popular Italian news outlet suggests Leclerc is “living in no mans land: neither condemned nor fulfilled, but stuck in the middle of nowhere.” Harsh words indeed. F1 journalist Giulia Toninelli likens Leclerc’s unfortunate circumstances to the recent Italian Grand Prix where Charles was really in ‘no mans land’ as Verstappen bossed proceedings whilst the McLarens almost conspired to lose a podium position.
Ferrari’s second place no achievement
The team are of course in second place in the constructors’ title race as Fred Vasseur regularly reminds his critics. Yet this defence is a fallacy given that the Scuderia’s direct competitors have just one driver scoring most of their points, as Kimi Antonelli and yukjio Tsunoda are rarely offering up points finishes.
Three pole positions, three wins and ten podium finishes were the tally for Leclerc in 2024 and by comparison this seasons results have seen there script torn up and replaced with something more suited to a “tragicomic theatre performance.”
Finishing fourth in Monza Charles Leclerc was visibly deflated confessing: “I didn’t have much confidence in winning a Grand Prix before arriving here, and I don’t have it now. So this race hasn’t changed much.” This is a masterpiece in understatement and with the circus returning to Austin Texas, the place of Charles last victory, in just three weekends time the last twelve months will have been a long year of drought.
Domenicali proven wrong by Italian GP
Leclerc’s obsession
Despite the arrival of Lewis Hamilton as his team mate, its Leclerc who week in and out bears the weight of Ferrari expectations on his shoulders. Yet week in and out he is watching Verstappen, Piastri, Norris and even George Russell receive the trophy’s repeating the mantra “My only obsession is bringing Ferrari back to the top.”
“Admirable. Tragic. Almost masochistic,” pens Toninelli, “year after year, what began as a childhood dream is morphing into existential torment.” The man once considered a generation talent is condemned to watching his peers win races and titles whilst Charles remains, “the loyal knight of Maranello, the eternal heir apparent, the prince who never quite gets the crown. It’s as if the fairy tale had been ghost written by Kafka.”
The veteran Italian F1 writer claims that 2026 is make and break for Leclerc and Ferrari. Whilst Lewis Hamilton is clinging on to the last moments of his F1 career, Charles deserves and wants more. With the biggest regulation changes coming in F1 history, Ferrari have to make it pay and do their part in shuffling the current pecking order.
Make of break 2026 for Leclerc
Tononelli claims Ferrari’s efforts for next year with either provide salvation for the Monegasque or an escape route from the current purgatory in which he finds himself. Consistently sticking is a simple strategy for Leclerc’s F1 career, yet it may be time to twist and make a leap of faith into the dark.
Despite Leclerc’s obsession to bring Ferrari back to the top, history is against him even the team’s shocking lack of success since 2008 when they last won the constructors championship. Even Kimi Raikkonen’s title in 2007 was a bit of a gift horse from McLaren as Alonso and Hamilton squabbled and conspired to hand the Finn the title by just one point.
The problem for Leclerc is that he is no longer the next promising hopeful as a new generation of F1 drivers aer now making their mark. It seems highly likely that Oscar Piastri in just his third year in the sport will claim the drivers crown come the curtain falling in Abu Dhabi. At 28 years of age Charles is no veteran, but neither is he the spring chicken he once was.
Tononelli portrays Leclerc as F1’s “tragic comedian” where the joke is always on him and not from him. His relationship with Ferrari is one of a sad romantic where love letters are replaced by powerpoint graphics titled: ‘2026 project progress’ yet hope remains eternal.
If loyalty is a virtue, then Leclerc is a saint. If it is folly, then he will become the court jester of Maranello.
Norris attacks Verstappen and Monza race stewards
Lando Norris left the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza with more than just another podium finish under his belt. He also left with a fresh grievance with Formula One’s race stewards, and with Max Verstappen, too — not for the first time. The opening metres of the Italian Grand Prix on 7 September 2025 provided enough drama to fuel McLaren’s debrief for several days and enough colourful radio chatter to remind everyone that Norris is not afraid to speak his mind.
The McLaren driver had lined up alongside Verstappen on the front row, angling his car optimistically towards the first chicane. He got off to a sharp start, momentarily nosing ahead of the reigning champion. However, Verstappen, as he has done countless times before, closed the door with an uncompromising shove that left Norris scrabbling across the Monza grass. “What’s that idiot doing? He pushed me into the grass!’ was Norris’s immediate reaction over the team radio, his words providing a raw soundtrack to the early skirmish. For all the smiles off the track, when he has his helmet on, Norris is no stranger to bluntly assessing his peers.
After the race, he remained unconvinced. When asked whether Verstappen had left him enough space at the start, he offered a dry retort: ‘Well, all four wheels were off the track, so I’ll take that as a no. But I also expect that to some extent. I expect a tough defence on the limit.” He added, however, “I don’t think you can just push people into the dirt. He knew from the outset that I was beside him. I had the better launch, and he knew that too.” It was the classic Verstappen–Norris paradox: mutual respect laced with simmering frustration…. READ MORE
A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
At TJ13, Andrew plays a central role in shaping the site’s output, working across breaking news, analysis, and long-form features. Andrew’s responsibilities include fact-checking, refining editorial structure, and ensuring consistency in reporting across a fast-moving news cycle.
Andrew’s work focuses particularly on the intersection of Formula 1 politics, regulation, and team strategy. Andrew closely follows developments involving the FIA, team leadership, and driver market dynamics, helping to provide context behind the sport’s biggest stories.
With experience covering multiple seasons of Formula 1’s modern hybrid era, Andrew has developed a detailed understanding of how regulatory changes and competitive shifts influence the grid. Andrew’s editorial approach prioritises clarity and context, aiming to help readers navigate complex developments within the sport.
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