Report: Charles Leclerc’s camp has now ‘approached’ £2.7bn-valued F1 team if he decides to quit Ferrari

Charles Leclerc is one of the most talented drivers on the grid, but his ambitions are not being met by Ferrari.

In Ferrari’s 75-year history in Formula 1, only Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen have completed more races than Charles Leclerc for the Scuderia.

However, unlike Schumacher and Raikkonen, Leclerc has yet to enjoy the same level of success as his drivers’ championship-winning predecessors.

The Monegasque driver is barely averaging more than one win per season with Ferrari since his debut in 2019.

Lewis Hamilton is experiencing similar frustrations on the other side of the garage, with both drivers simply striving for a single victory this year.

Hamilton has already enjoyed his fair share of success as the F1 driver with the most pole positions and victories, but he will still be striving for that elusive eighth championship.

Ted Kravitz wonders if Hamilton will achieve another title with Ferrari, but Leclerc might be starting to run out of patience with the Scuderia as he continues to wait for a title-challenging car.

This has led to Leclerc’s camp reaching out to one of Ferrari’s rivals with F1’s 2026 regulation changes on the horizon.

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Charles Leclerc’s manager has ‘approached’ Red Bull over potential 2027 move

Leclerc has been watching on this season and seeing both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris eclipse his tally of eight race wins would be extremely frustrating.

Much has been made of Leclerc’s inability to convert pole positions into victories, although more often than not, this is down to his car’s performance rather than any shortfall in his ability.

Martin Brundle once called Leclerc F1’s best qualifier, and his 27 pole positions for Ferrari are better than both Niki Lauda and Sebastian Vettel achieved for the Scuderia.

Leclerc has a long-term contract with Ferrari, but every deal in Formula 1 has break clauses, and if Fred Vasseur’s team don’t meet his expectations next year, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Leclerc were suddenly a player in the driver market.

A report from F1 Insider suggests that Leclerc’s manager, Nicolas Todt, has ‘approached’ Red Bull about a potential move for his client.

The £2.7bn-valued F1 team have had plenty of issues in the past trying to find the right teammate for Max Verstappen.

However, with uncertainty surrounding Red Bull’s competitiveness going into F1’s next set of regulations, Leclerc might end up being the replacement for the four-time world champion, rather than his teammate.

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Helmut Marko has already set out Red Bull’s stance on Charles Leclerc

All it’s going to take next season is one of the top drivers on the grid to decide they want a new challenge for the paddock to go into a driver market frenzy.

Fernando Alonso could retire next season, leaving a spare seat at Aston Martin, while George Russell continues to wait for terms on a new Mercedes deal to be agreed.

It will be interesting to see how Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s relationship at McLaren develops, and that’s before considering what Hamilton plans to do after 2026.

Leclerc may therefore end up being a top candidate for several teams if he privately makes it clear that he’s looking for a new challenge in 2027.

Helmut Marko has an important say in what happens with Red Bull’s drivers.

During a 2020 interview with Motorsport, he admitted when asked who the top talent was not attached to Red Bull: “Leclerc. It’s quite clear, Leclerc.”

There are no guarantees going into next season as to which team will be at the front of the pack.

But the time might have come for Leclerc to abandon his impressive loyalty to Ferrari and put himself in the frame to finally challenge for a championship elsewhere.