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Charles Leclerc started the 2022 F1 season with two wins from the first three races but ended up 146 points behind champion Max Verstappen after winning just one of the next 20.
The 25-year-old lost out on a number of wins last season due to factors beyond his control. Wins at Monaco, Silverstone and Hungary went down the drain thanks to Ferrari's questionable strategy. In Barcelona, Lecrec had to retire after a power unit failure.
Even though the 2022 F1 season was the most successful of Leclerc's career, it was clear that it was the most emotionally taxing season as well. The disappointment of losing out on well-earned wins wore Leclerc down and so did the loss in the title battle, where he held an early championship lead.
There were question marks over where the Ferrari-Leclerc marriage might be heading as the team's operational side made one blunder after the other. With a change of leadership at the top, that debate has been pushed to the kerb for some time.
Having said that, one question still remains: Does Charles Leclerc need to move away from Ferrari?
Revolving Team Principal door
Christian Horner has been Red Bull's principal since 2005, Toto Wolff has been at the helm for Mercedes since 2013, Franz Tost has been at Torro Rosso/AlphaTauri since 2006, and even Guenther Steiner has been at Haas since its inception.
Comparing that to Ferrari, the leadership reigns resemble presidential elections, with a principal typically lasting just three to five years. Since 2008, Ferrari have had Stefano Domenicali, Marco Mattiaci, Maurizio Arrivabene, Mattia Binotto and now Fred Vasseur as the team principal.
While this method has worked for Ferrari in the past, you need stability at the top for long-term success in the modern era. This is a lesson that Ferrari seems unwilling to learn and hence continues to struggle.
15 years without a title!
When you look at the potential of a team to win titles, you look at multiple factors, both tangible and intangible. When it comes to tangible factors, you look at the personnel that are part of the team, its facilities and resources. When it comes to intangible factors, you look at the history of success of the team and the passion and drive with which it operates.
When it comes to Ferrari, there's no shortage of passion or drive. There is, however, a shortage of titles. The team has not won anything in the last 15 years. Kimi Raikkonen won the last driver's title for Ferrari in 2007, and the last constructors' title came in 2008.
Since then, there's been no championships for the team. Ferrari are currently a team that has made a habit of underperforming. If that is the case, then does it even make sense for Charles Leclerc to stick around?
The politics at Ferrari is a massive handicap
The political turmoil at Ferrari would be something that Charles Leclerc has become well aware of now. Mattia Binotto's sacking in 2022, and even the way he succeeded Maurizio Arrivabene in 2019, reeked of politics.
Every F1 team tends to have a certain level of politics. It's a well-known and accepted thing. Any corporate unit would have that in all likelihood. However, for other teams, that has not worked as a deterrent to progress, growth, or success.
In Ferrari's case, that has certainly been the case. The team is political at its core and this hampers growth all the time. There is always an internal battle going on in the background that often leads to on-track disasters.
Sebastian Vettel struggled because of that in 2017 and 2018, when Ferrari couldn't continue to develop at the same level as Mercedes. Similar stuff hampered Fernando Alonso's championship campaigns as well.
For any team to be successful, efficiency is everything. Sadly, as witnessed by Charles Leclerc himself last season, there's just too much noise within Ferrari and the core focus shifts far too much.
What should Charles Leclerc do?
With the entire driver market stagnating at the moment, Charles Leclerc has to stick with Ferrari. Neither Mercedes nor Red Bull have a vacancy and there is a high likelihood of Lewis Hamilton extending his contract.
There has also been a change in management at Ferrari, with Fred Vasseur being very fond of Leclerc and is a respected team principal as well. Ferrari improved last season in terms of machinery, what if Fred Vasseur could help provide the final piece of the puzzle for Leclerc to challenge for the title?
For Charles Leclerc, this is worth a shot, especially with no other avenues open for him right now.
