Mika Hakkinen delivers Charles Leclerc plea as rival F1 team offers Ferrari escape route

Mika Hakkinen has urged Charles Leclerc to keep faith with Ferrari and its management, after all, it took him a few years to be in a title fight and then he won two on the trot.

Joining Ferrari in 2019 on the back of a single season with the Ferrari-powered Alfa Romeo Sauber team, much was expected of the partnership with Leclerc tipped to become Ferrari’s next World Champion.

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However, seven years into his time in red, Leclerc may have eight grand prix wins but he’s yet to launch a concerted title attack.

The driver did finish runner-up in 2022, but his early-season charge was blighted by a barrage of mistakes from both the driver and the team that left him trailing Max Verstappen by 146 points.

This season, he’s not even in a race to join the McLaren teammates on the podium with Leclerc’s frustration over Ferrari’s failure to take the fight to McLaren playing out in radio messages and post-race interviews.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have the race car to fight with the guys in front,” he told the media after his P6 at the Singapore Grand Prix, adding: “It’s not easy, obviously, because you want to fight for better positions. But at the moment, it just feels like we are passengers to the car and we cannot extract much more.”

His comments have reportedly irked engineers at Ferrari with Corriere dello Sport claiming: ‘Among the engineers themselves, there are those who are angry with Leclerc for his uncompromising criticism of the car and how it is managed.’

Gazzetta dello Sport stated that Leclerc’s comments ‘paint a discouraging picture of the entire Maranello environment’, and that ‘relations between the various departments of the team are strained.’

It’s led to speculation that Leclerc could walk away from the F1 2026 season, and his manager Nicholas Todt isn’t ruling that out.

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“He’s not a kid anymore,” he told the Straight Times. “He’s been racing with Ferrari for many seasons. We need a winning car… Many drivers will want to see how competitive the various teams are before deciding whether to stay or change teams. I expect a very hot market.”

However, double F1 World Champion Hakkinen, who won back-to-back titles with McLaren in 1998 and 1999, has urged Leclerc to keep faith with Ferrari.

That’s what he did with McLaren, and it paid off.

“His management is thinking very hard about what is happening and what’s going to happen in the future,” Hakkinen told the Hindustan Times.

“From my personal experience, I never gave up. I was very loyal to McLaren with the management being able to convince me that ‘Mika, just wait, when we get all the aspects correct in the team, you will win. Let’s work hard. It doesn’t matter if it takes 1-2-3 years. Let’s just go for it.’ It worked on my personal commitment.

“It’s going to work with Leclerc and Ferrari.”

It could even be as early as next season.

Next season Formula 1 will undergo its biggest regulatory reset in its history, with all-new engines and cars on the grid.

The engine regulations will adopt more sustainable and efficient engines that will run on a 50/50 split between combustion engine and electrical power, a 300 per cent increase from the current battery impact.

As for the cars, the chassis regulations will also change with smaller, lighter, more agile cars that use active aerodynamics.

Today’s pecking order could be turned on its head.

“The cars are technically changing a lot for next year,” explained Hakkinen. “The very experienced designers can develop a fantastic car.

“Drivers will probably have to change their skills a little bit. They will need to focus very hard to keep the car on track as the cars can become very difficult to drive next year.

“The teams which have good designers who are able to build a great car, they’re going to do well. Teams who are not so experienced will have a lot of problems.”

Cadillac has all but offered Leclerc an out after Mario Andretti, who is on the board of directors, said he’d happily sign the eight-time grand prix winner. But, he added, Cadillac will need a few years.

But the 1978 F1 World Champion, who is on the board of directors at the Cadillac team, admits the American team will need a few years before it can make a play for a driver like Leclerc.

“I’m a big fan of Leclerc, and if he ever wanted to change teams, I’d take him on at Cadillac right away,” Andretti said as per F1inGenerale at the Trento Sports Festival.

“He’s able to win races, and if he has the car he would be able to win a championship.

“I would (sign him) tomorrow, without a doubt. I would welcome him with open arms. We need a couple of years, we have to deserve such a talent.

“I like Leclerc, he’s a very capable driver. He, for sure, needs a different car.”

“But,” he conceded, “Ferrari will always be there. Sooner or later they will come up with something.”

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