Danner: Leclerc in Ferrari has to make compromises.

      After the first three stages of the season, Ferrari is in second place in the Constructors' Cup, although its drivers have earned one and a half times fewer points than their rivals from Mercedes. Charles Leclerc has been racing for the Italian team for eight seasons now, but his best result remains 2nd place in the World Championship at the end of 2022. However, he still hasn't managed to win the title—not because he isn't fast enough. Everyone understands that it's not about Leclerc, whose championship potential is hard to deny, but about the cars being built in Maranello.

      According to Christian Danner, a former Formula 1 driver who now collaborates as an expert with the Austrian publication Motorsport Magazin, Leclerc is judged by his actual results, even though he is capable of more. However, this is his own choice. "Leclerc is underestimated, and this is related to his results. On the other hand, he is paid so much that he himself prefers this not-so-bad compromise," says Danner. "Currently, at Ferrari, Charles earns about 30 million euros a year and confidently ranks among the top ten wealthiest F1 drivers. By the end of 2025, he even made it into the top three, trailing only Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.

      But if Leclerc had been racing for Red Bull or McLaren all these years, he would surely have achieved much greater success. He knows very well what he is capable of, but even more importantly, Ferrari knows this too and pays him a corresponding salary."

      In the past seven years, Leclerc has won 8 races driving for Ferrari, but Lando Norris has achieved 11 victories during the same period, and his teammate Oscar Piastri already has 9 such achievements, even though he has only been racing for McLaren for four seasons. Max Verstappen, starting from 2019, has stood on the top step of the podium 66 times.

      "The fact that Leclerc has not yet become a world champion is compensated by the money he receives at Ferrari," Danner continued. "Clearly, he has to find some reasonable compromise for himself, and Charles can always say that he no longer wants to deal with all this, but where can he go? Maybe if he raced for Red Bull, he would have to settle for another compromise that would be even worse?

      Undoubtedly, at Ferrari, he keeps everything under personal control, so I believe he made a very pragmatic decision: 'I will stay in this warm and cozy nest and try to achieve the best possible results.' But I am absolutely sure that he keeps asking himself this question over and over again."