Former HAAS team principal Guenther Steiner believes there may be a time when Charles Leclerc seeks a new challenge as Ferrari didn’t give him a F1 car that includes the title.
Ferrari was the biggest disappointment of the 2025 F1 season, winning one podium in the opening seventh round.
After missing out on the 2024 F1 Constructors Championship to McLaren, there was much to expect from Ferrari.
Their strong end last year, combined with Lewis Hamilton’s signature, meant expectations were high for the season to enter.
However, with Ferrari being far off the pace set by McLaren, it appears Hamilton and Leclair will have to wait until 2026 to compete for the title.
Leclerc has been with Ferrari since 2019 after replacing Kimi Raikkonen.
He created his own team with performers Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz, but Ferrari failed to give him the tools to compete for the Formula One World Championships throughout the season.
In 2022, Ferrari had a car comparable to Red Bull in the first half of the season, but Leclair, which is poorly reliable and strategy, has some race wins.
The Belgian Grand Prix technical command cut the Ferrari season and has been struggling to recover ever since.
2024 was undoubtedly the best season ever for Leclerc, especially in terms of consistency.
However, despite winning five races, Ferrari didn’t have the fastest car.
Steiner suggests that Leclerc should leave
Steiner, who was Haas’s boss between 2016 and 2023, believes Leclerc will benefit from the team’s exchange.
The Austrian cited Hamilton’s decision to leave Mercedes to Ferrari.
However, Steiner warned that incorrect team switching could backfire, as Fernando Alonso has done several times.
“I’m going to Gas, he needs a new challenge,” Steiner said on the Red Flagspodcast.
“I think he’s been there for a long time. Sometimes the change is good, like Lewis left Mercedes to go to Ferrari.
“I think it’s Charles. At some stage, everything becomes a normal thing, so it’s like something new.
“He’s not in a position to win the championship, so if he might go elsewhere, he might be lucky, you’ll never know.
“But he was unlucky and managed to go to the wrong team, like Fernando Alonso.”