Is it time for Charles Leclerc to “dump” Ferrari?

Ferrari. A team submerged in history, glory and triumph. A team every driver dreams of driving for.

A team that has fans so dedicated they treat it like a religion.

“Ask a child to draw a car, and certainly he will draw it red.”           -Enzo Ferrari.

You think of the dominance Ferrari held with Jean Todd and Michael Schumacher in the early 2000’s, but flash forward to 2023 and the image has been drastically tainted.

Ferrari's current struggles

The most recent race in Barcelona showed repeated mistakes from the Italian team.

A new upgrade did not improve their pace and unclear communication between the pit-wall and drivers resulted in a poor 11th place for Charles and 5th for Carlos.

Unacceptable from a team that’s seen as the most respected on the grid. It’s a team sport. You have to have everybody on the same page, but the team always feels as if they have no idea what decision to make.

Maybe it's the fear of what the Italian media and Tifosi will say if they make a mistake, but this fear is leading to no decisions.

Teams are supposed to take risks that may reap rewards or may not. That is what a respected F1 team SHOULD be doing.

A Personal bond with a faltering team

So why is it in question to stay at Ferrari if the team is so underperforming? Charles has his own unique history with the team.

His godfather Jules Bianchi being a part of the Ferrari Academy and was ‘seen as the next championship winning driver for them.

However, in 2014 he sadly lost his life at the Japanese Grand Prix.

“I’ve never overcome it. Maybe I never will.”

On top of this tragedy, Charles also lost his father who taught him everything from karts to F1.

Charles has repeatedly mentioned wanting to do what both his father and Jules never got too, drive and win for Ferrari.

Some say this emotional connection to Ferrari is leading Charles down a path of waiting for a championship winning team that may never come in his prime.

But what are his options if he wanted to move team? The only place seemly viable would be Mercedes if Lewis Hamilton doesn’t renew his contract this year.

Although would Mercedes want another driver rivalry like Lewis had with Nico Rosberg? George Russell would certainly not back down from Charles and would make it clear he’s the number one driver.

Leclerc's dilemma and Ferrari's future

Charles is already seen as Ferrari’s golden boy who comes first so why throw security away? On the other hand, you have teammate Carlos Sainz.

The pair seem to be getting on well although having a few hiccups along the way, such as Carlos taking the win in Silverstone last year when Charles felt it should have been him.

Having a good teammate can be hard to find in this sport (As we’ve seen with the likes of Senna VS Prost...).

I think most would advise Charles keeps Carlos along for the ride as much as he can. As much as it’s painful to watch Charles’ talent be wasted I don’t see him going anywhere.

His dedication to Ferrari is clear.

I believe Fred Vasseur will slowly transform the Ferrari team back to a competing one, with Charles already having a good relationship with Fred from his time at Art GP in the GP3 series and Alfa Romeo when Charles first made his F1 Debut in 2018 (Where Fred was team principle).

To Conclude, Charles’ talent is unmatched. Having a very successful junior career, winning the GP3 in 2016 and the Formula 2 championship in 2017 by winning seven races in a row that not even the likes of Lewis Hamilton did in his Junior Career.

Ferrari hasn’t won a championship since 2007 with Kimi Raikkonen and with the way things have been presented so far this year, I don’t see them winning another one anytime soon.

Change is essential for the Maranello-based team.

They need to rid themselves of the toxic blame culture and not keep changing their team principle if they’ve had a bad season.

Enforce change and build the team up again from scratch.