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Mika Hakkinen has shared his view of the seemingly stagnant situation that Charles Leclerc finds himself in at Ferrari. The Monegasque joined the team in 2019, but has yet to bear the fruit of his loyalty to the Scuderia.
Leclerc has been under the wings of Ferrari since his junior racing days and has been touted as the driver who could bring back the championship glory to Maranello. However, the results as of late speak a different tale as reports suggest that the 27-year-old could be on the move as early as 2027.
On the other hand, the 1998 and 1999 F1 champion, Mika Hakkinen, also had a similar tale with his time at McLaren. He joined the team in 1993, but didn't have the machinery capable of winning titles from the get-go.
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Despite this, he stayed with the Woking-based squad, and he eventually reaped the reward of his patience. So, sharing his take on the situation that Leclerc currently finds himself in at Ferrari, the Flying Finn said on Fancode:
"His management is thinking very hard about what is happening and what’s going to happen in the future. 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."
On the other hand, Charles Leclerc has a subpar 2025 campaign so far.
Charles Leclerc is not optimistic about the rest of the 2025 season with Ferrari
Charles Leclerc emerged victorious three times last year. However, he has been unable to step onto the top step of the podium so far this year and has reached the rostrum only five times.
With his last visit to the podium coming in at the Belgian GP, his results have witnessed a dip since then. Moreover, finishing P6 at the Singapore GP, it was another sub-optimal result that the Monegasque had to settle for.
So, discontent with how things are going at the Italian giant, he said after the Singapore GP (via F1's official website):
"It's tough, it's very tough. We are not strong at the moment and we are struggling massively with the car. It's not easy. I wish I could say that I'm positive for the rest of the season, I don't think there's anything in the car that proves to me that we are going to do a step forward."
Leclerc finished third in the standings last year, but replicating that result seems highly unlikely in 2025. He has a massive 100-point deficit to the current third-place sitter, Max Verstappen, with only six rounds of racing to go.
