(Motorsport-Total.com) – Dear readers,
After the Monaco Grand Prix 2026, there are a few gentlemen who might have slept badly last night. George Russell is certainly one of them. Not so much because he experienced a black race Sunday, with a whole series of failures, bad luck, and mishaps, starting from a millimeter decision when crossing the white line at the pit exit to the curious fact that his mechanics, in the heat of the moment, simply forgot that there was still a time penalty to be served.
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What is truly disturbing from the perspective of the declared championship favorite (at least before the start of the season) is that he is already 68 points behind his teammate Kimi Antonelli in the drivers’ standings, the new prodigy of Formula 1. 68 points, with 424 points still to be conquered, is not yet a preliminary decision. But it is clear that his credit is now used up. And that 2026 should actually have been his year. With 28 years on his back and the best car under him, Russell would certainly have hoped that it was his turn now. But the Antonelli Express is currently rolling over his opponents like an unstoppable avalanche.
However: Russell already slept badly after Suzuka, and we certainly don’t want to bore our readers with repetitive stories. And for the bizarre end of yesterday’s Grand Prix, when the asphalt broke up in the final corner, we can hardly let Anthony Noghes sleep badly, and Formula 1 bosses Mohammed bin Sulayem (FIA) and Stefano Domenicali (FOM) are not responsible for that either. At least not directly.
“I look like an idiot!”
Of all places, Monaco! Charles Leclerc has already won his home race once in 2024 – but apart from that, he seems to be cursed in the narrow streets of the principality. Whether it was ultimately the breaking asphalt that caused him to understeer into the guardrails in the last corner (just like Lance Stroll before him), or the brakes – in the end, “I look like an idiot. And if you look like an idiot because of your own mistake, that’s fine. But this is bordering on dangerous.”
Other things will also bother the 28-year-old, who has now left his youngster years behind him and has a fresh contract extension with Ferrari in his pocket. That he was behind Lewis Hamilton, whom many had already written off, on the track when it happened. And that, at least in the first emotion, he felt sabotaged by Ferrari’s pit radio when he was ordered to a “double-stack” tire change during the safety car period, which effectively robbed him of any chance to benefit from Hamilton’s five-second penalty. Let it go. In the end, it didn’t matter anyway.
Leclerc: Meteoric Rise in Formula 1
Leclerc entered Formula 1 like a comet. In 2018, at Sauber, he initially had some teething problems. But once he realized after a few races that he should perhaps listen a bit more to the experienced engineers regarding the setup, there was no stopping him.
In the winter of 2018/19, before his first season with Ferrari, the then Sauber team physio Josef Leberer predicted to me during a dinner in the Tyrolean mountains that he wouldn’t be surprised if Leclerc won his very first race as Sebastian Vettel’s new teammate at the Scuderia. Jo was wrong about that. But a year later, Leclerc had won two Grands Prix and the four-time champion only one. And alongside Max Verstappen, he was suddenly the next big thing in Formula 1.
Today, six years later, Leclerc has a few well-paid Ferrari contracts and a few more millions, but with eight Grand Prix victories from 177 starts and a second (2022) and a third place (2024) in the World Championship, his career remains unfulfilled.
What Leclerc has in common with Gerhard Berger
Leclerc is unlikely to go down in history as the new Gerhard Berger – that is, as someone who can drive everyone else into the ground on his good days, but who will ultimately never seriously contend for a World Championship because of his not-so-good days. But so far, a) an always passable but never dominant Ferrari has stood in his way, and b) at least from an outside perspective, he doesn’t seem quite as cool and cold-blooded in stressful situations as the young Verstappen and the current World Championship sensation Antonelli.
In any case, Leclerc does not lack sheer talent. Anyone who has champions like Vettel and Hamilton under control is definitely a potential world champion. But success in Formula 1 is a laborious puzzle, and while Leclerc has quickly and successfully assembled 90 percent of his pieces, he now seems to be working himself to the bone trying to find the last fitting pieces.
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Charles Leclerc’s Series of Mishaps: How the Ferrari Driver Lost the 2022 World Championship
Monaco 2026 will also make him sleep badly because he is normally almost unbeatable at home, but last weekend he had great difficulty keeping up with veteran Hamilton. A seven-time world champion, sure – but also one whom many have secretly already written off, although hardly anyone dares to say so clearly out of respect for his life’s achievements.
At least for this year, Leclerc must slowly come to terms with the fact that the World Championship title will again be out of reach. For the eighth time since he has been driving for Ferrari. He is now in fourth position in the overall standings, 81 points behind Antonelli. Mathematically not impossible to catch up such a deficit, as Verstappen proved in 2025. But practically a starting position that, at least for me, would not give me the confidence to bet my savings on him.
Would a Team Change Bring a Fresh Impetus?
Perhaps he will eventually need a change of scenery to experience a second spring when the first one slowly comes to an end. Alain Prost had to leave his perceived home, Renault, to become world champion for the first time with McLaren in 1985. Many also felt before his move that he belonged to Renault’s inventory. Just like Leclerc belongs to Ferrari today. Who knows how he would perform in a Mercedes or McLaren environment, out of his comfort zone? But that topic is now off the table for the time being.
I remember a quote from Gerhard Berger, attributed to him in 1989 by Austrian reporter legend Heinz Prüller: “What good are a few more millions to me if I can’t become world champion?” Berger moved to McLaren in 1990 – and there he no longer failed due to Ferrari technology, but rather due to the great Ayrton Senna.
I don’t believe that Charles Leclerc would break against Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri in the other car. He is probably better positioned as an overall package than Berger was back then. But doubts are slowly growing that he will one day be added to the list of Formula 1 world champions.
Russell and Leclerc: The Overlooked Generation?
Russell and Leclerc: Two exceptionally talented racing drivers who face the fate of being overlooked during the handover of the golden generations. A bit like in tennis, where super talents like Dominic Thiem or Alexander Zverev initially had the old stars Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic in their way – and then suddenly Sinner and Alcaraz started winning at will.
After all: Zverev won the French Open yesterday, the first Grand Slam tournament of his career. The German is now 29 years old.
From that perspective, Russell and Leclerc (both 28) still have a year to fulfill their big dream.
Yours
Christian Nimmervoll
Note: It is in the nature of things that this column reflects my subjective perception. Anyone who disagrees is welcome to discuss it with me on my Facebook page “Formel 1 inside mit Christian Nimmervoll”. There you will not primarily find “breaking news” from the Grand Prix circus, but above all strictly subjective and sometimes quite biting classifications of the most important developments behind the scenes of Formula 1.
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