Lando Norris’ dramatic McLaren rise only highlights Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari peril

When Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc put pen to paper on new deals within 24 hours of one another in January, the majority would have said it was the Ferrari man who had made the smarter move.

Norris was being openly courted by a dominant Red Bull and his decision to stay at the MTC was at least partially explained by his love of the only team he has known rather than solely based on sporting merit.

For Leclerc, he was part of a revamped Ferrari with Fred Vasseur, with whom he shares a close relationship, a year into his overhaul of the team.

He would have known that Lewis Hamilton was joining him next year and with Ferrari one of six engine suppliers in 2026, he would have been confident that this was the place to be for him to win titles.

Now though, the situation looks rather different. Since signing their respective new deals, Norris has outscored Leclerc by 27 points and that margin looks set to only increase.

Norris may only have one win to his name but the performance of the MCL38 means it is not out of the question that he will match Leclerc’s tally of six come the season end.

McLaren, the second oldest team behind only Ferrari, have risen to the top perch in terms of performance and to the point that there are now credible debates as to whether they can bring home their first Constructors’ title since 1998.

The two teams also happen to be next to each other in this year’s pit lane formation meaning Leclerc and co. have had a front row seat to watch McLaren’s rise.

All the while, they have found themselves stumbling in a familiar way. The exorcising of Leclerc’s Monaco demons appear to have come at the cost of any kind of fortune elsewhere. Ferrari’s upgrades in Spain have seen them regress, faced with porpoising and watching as even Mercedes overtook them.

Most recently, Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri secured a one-two in Hungary, Leclerc was in fourth mainly due to Max Verstappen’s kamikaze divebomb late on. Carlos Sainz was two spots back.

He would not admit it publicly but frustration is the word that best defines Leclerc’s Ferrari career. His first year with the team in 2019 saw him finish fourth in the standings and suggest that the promising potential was about to be coupled with a car that could challenge. And then 2020 happened.

The SF1000 was a poor successor. Seeing Leclerc qualify seventh in the opening race, Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri admitted it was “clear that we have to improve on all fronts.” They would go on to finish sixth, their lowest Constructors’ placing in 40 years.

In the final year of the regulation cycle, Ferrari did recover to third but their focus was on 2022 and trying to bring silverware back to Maranello. At the start of the season, that looked a formality.

Leclerc won two of the opening three races with title rival Verstappen admitting it would be very difficult for him and Red Bull to overtake Ferrari. He would finish the season 146 points ahead.

2022 would have been a particularly tough pill for Leclerc to swallow as, for the first time since he had been there, they had the car to be title contenders but, not for the first time, Ferrari found a way to Ferrari it.

Poor strategy calls, Leclerc’s mistakes and a fight for power at the senior level resulted in Mattia Binotto being shown the door and Vasseur called in to try and lift the dark cloud that had taken up permanent residence above Maranello.

To Vasseur’s credit, he has done that. Ferrari from the outside appears a more attractive place to work and Hamilton’s arrival in 2025 is the clearest indication that those within the paddock feel the team is moving in the right direction.

Which is why their most recent stumble will feel depressingly familiar for Leclerc. Leclerc’s new deal not only saw him commit his immediate future but also the best years of his career to the team he has openly admitted he loves. Barring any changes, Leclerc will be with Ferrari until 2029 and the driver will be 31 years old.

Such a deal, the longest of anyone on the grid, is evidence that Leclerc has bet the farm on Ferrari but if Norris’ move has proven to be one made with the head, Leclerc’s is looking increasingly like it was one made with the heart.

Ask anyone where Leclerc ranks in terms of the most talented drivers and he would undoubtedly be near the top.

His story, a Monaco-born Ferrari driver, coupled with his early promise – he won the GP3 Series and F2 in his debut season – suggested that he would be the saviour Ferrari needed.

And yet, Leclerc has become somewhat of a tragic figure in the F1 community. His scream after his crash from the lead at the 2022 French Grand Prix is as clear now as it was then and his infamous “I am stupid” line after hitting the wall in Baku is a mainstay of the F1 lexicon.

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Not all of this is Leclerc’s fault though and it is hard to see how any driver would react differently if given the raw end of the deal as much as Leclerc has; but Ferrari have in their grasp one of the best drivers on the grid and have so far squandered most of his potential.

For a team that has been in the sport since race two, drivers not matching their potential is nothing new but Leclerc’s current plight has seen him being compared to Jean Alesi.

The Frenchman is a beloved figure in the history of Ferrari but one that won just one race. Alesi was talented, one that chose Ferrari over a more realistic chance of glory and one that has fewer wins than perhaps his skill deserved. Sound familiar?

Leclerc is into his seventh F1 season, his sixth with Ferrari, and what does he have to show for it? Six wins and more pole positions won by Verstappen than himself.

When Norris signed his previous deal at McLaren, he was accused of being too loyal. Not ambitious enough to move away from his home. That patience has been rewarded.

For Leclerc though, his patience has been met with further frustration and with a deal until 2029, his future, for better or worse, is wedded to Ferrari’s.

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