McLaren F1 icon gives rare take on Charles Leclerc's Ferrari exit rumors

Ferrari star Charles Leclerc has been linked to a potential move away from the Maranello-based team, with Aston Martin, Mercedes, and even McLaren popping up as potential destinations. Amid this, McLaren icon Mika Hakkinen recently came out with a rare take, suggesting the Monegasque will continue with the Scuderia.

Charles Leclerc joined Ferrari in 2019 as the young driver seen as the next F1 champion for the Scuderia. However, in the last seven years, the Italian team has failed to deliver a title-worthy car to the Monegasque. The same has led to frustrations for the 27-year-old, whose camp has reportedly been in talks with other top teams.

Reports of the Monegasque being in talks with Aston Martin and Mercedes started circling the paddock a couple of weeks ago. The latest suggests that a direct swap with Oscar Piastri at McLaren is also a possibility, which is on the board for the Ferrari star.

F1 Grand Prix Of Singapore - Source: Getty

Amid all this, former F1 champion Mika Hakkinen, who won the 1998 and 1999 titles with McLaren, recently came out and sat down with Fancode for an interview. The Finnish driver detailed how he waited for multiple years at McLaren before the team delivered a title-worthy car, and expected Charles Leclerc to follow the same, and stay with Ferrari.

“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,” said Mika Hakkinen

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Charles Leclerc details Ferrari's “struggles” after the 2025 Singapore GP

Charles Leclerc started the Singapore GP in P7 and overtook his teammate Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli off the line. However, the Monegasque dropped away in the second half of the race and finished P6 after his teammate’s brake failure. Leclerc himself had to lift and coast to prevent a failure like Hamilton.

The Monegasque driver came out after the 2025 Singapore GP, as detailed the struggles with the SF25 as he said,

“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,” (via F1’s official website) “I think this is the reality of our situation at the moment. I don't quite know how to turn that situation around because we don't have new parts or anything coming to the car,” he added

Ferrari were 2nd in the championship going into the summer break, but have now been overtaken by Ferrari, with Red Bull just a few points behind them.

Edited by Pranay Bhagi