"Finally brighter days ahead": Fans react to reports of Charles Leclerc reaching out to Mercedes, Aston Martin, and McLaren

Fans reacted as reports of Charles Leclerc assessing options with other teams surfaced on social media. His team is said to be in contact with Aston Martin, Mercedes, and McLaren for the 2027 season, as he reportedly plans to end his stint with Ferrari.

Leclerc has been driving for the Maranello-based outfit since the 2019 season. Despite the team's long history of winning, they have failed to deliver him a car capable of winning the championship. His closest call was the 2022 season when he finished second in the standings. Moreover, the current season has been more or less of a disaster for both him and his teammate, Lewis Hamilton.

The team continues to struggle under the McLaren domination. Meanwhile, Aston Martin is expected to be extremely competitive in the near future, and this is just one of the teams where Leclerc could find himself in the future. Reports from Italian media claim that his management team is in contact with representatives from McLaren, Aston Martin, and Mercedes for his future beyond 2026.

Fans reacted to the reports in excitement, as many of them felt that he should have made the decision to leave the team earlier.https://x.com/syws_17/status/1972703113803968595

Sport

@syws_17

@formularacers_ @RmcMotori OMG it’s happening! Finally brighter days ahead. Told you Toto has something up his sleeve that’s why he’s giving Kimi or George the extension yet.

Cytrus 🍋

@cytrusf1

@formularacers_ @RmcMotori He finally came to his senses? After what 8 years?

cl

@Cl0438

@formularacers_ @RmcMotori Max and Charles battling in a Newey designed Aston sounds exactly like what can revive F1 from this mclaren bs

Many also mentioned that the underlying issue at Ferrari is difficult to overcome, considering even Charles Leclerc is looking for options outside the team.

Péter 🇭🇺

@eiceen0

@formularacers_ @RmcMotori If he’s giving up on Ferrari then yk it’s bad

Yash

@yashv011

@formularacers_ @RmcMotori Wow imagine even Leclerc doesnt trust ferarri anymore, we are in for a ride💀

naishh

@naishadhjhaveri

@formularacers_ @RmcMotori I also believe that Leclerc deserves a better race winning car and Ferrari have failed in delivering it to him.

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"We have some explanations": Charles Leclerc on Ferrari's struggles with cold temps this season

Charles Leclerc during the 2025 F1 Azerbaijan GP (Getty Images)

The Azerbaijan GP weekend started strongly for Ferrari as they led the timing charts on Friday during the second practice session. However, the situation changed for them heading into Saturday. Lewis Hamilton only qualified P12, and Charles Leclerc's crash saw him start the race in P10.

The Ferraris struggled in the race as they remained stuck in one position. Leclerc finished P9, meanwhile Hamilton was in P8, after the team asked the drivers to swap places.

Reviewing the weekend, Leclerc explained that the car has struggled this season in cold temperatures, and so was the case with Baku.

"It's always easy to blame the car and I think overall the car this weekend hasn't been the strongest and it's been a difficult weekend," he said (via F1).

"We have some explanations, first is probably the approach that I've had on the set-up, which hasn't been the right one. Second, I think our car is struggling whenever it's cool and it's been quite cold since yesterday and that made us struggle."

As Ferrari's struggles continue this season, the team dropped to third place in the Constructors' Championship. Mercedes, their strong competitors this year, was able to take a four-point lead in the standings after George Russell's podium finish in Baku. Kimi Antonelli also had a strong performance and delivered a P4.