Doubts about Leclerc's future: "Staying with Ferrari may be his best option"

Peter Windsor believes that Charles Leclerc should stay with Ferrari. The Formula 1 journalist thinks that the Monegasque driver has a better chance at his current team than in case he starts from scratch at for example Red Bull Racing, Mercedes or Aston Martin. However, the Brit believes that Leclerc would have more success if he were to drive for Red Bull this year, "but, for now, it's better to stay with Ferrari," he said during a YouTube stream.

Ferrari had a difficult start to the season, with Leclerc only managing to reach the podium once in the first five races. The disappointing results have raised doubts about the young driver's future with Ferrari. His contract will expire at the end of next year. According to rumors, Leclerc already has agreements with Mercedes to potentially replace seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton if he decides to retire at the end of this season, but team boss Toto Wolff has denied this so far.

Windsor: "Russell is much harder to beat as a teammate than Sainz"

According to Windsor, it is also not a wise move for Leclerc to switch to another team. "Red Bull won't be an option," the Brit said, quoted by PlanetF1.com. "Look, it's clear that Charles (Leclerc) would win races this year if he were to drive for Red Bull tomorrow, but it's not easy to compete with Max Verstappen as a teammate." That leaves only Mercedes and Aston Martin as options, in addition to the choice of simply staying at Ferrari.

Windsor believes there is potential for team boss Frédéric Vasseur to create a beneficial situation for Leclerc to stay with the Scuderia. "He has to believe in Vasseur's talent and what he can achieve at Ferrari," Windsor said. "The other options are simply worse. Aston Martin is a mess, and at Mercedes, he would only come as Hamilton's replacement. Then he would have to compete with George Russell. Such a teammate is much harder to beat than Carlos Sainz."