Alfa Romeo Sauber’s Charles Leclerc is in his first season as a full-time Formula 1 driver following two seasons of test driving for Formula 1 teams. The 20-year-old Monegasque test drove for Scuderia Ferrari and the Ferrari-powered Haas team in the 2016 season, and he test drove for Ferrari and the Ferrari-powered Sauber team last season.
In 2016, Leclerc won the GP3 Series championship, and last year, he won the Formula 2 championship. Through the first 12 races of his first Formula 1 season, he has been on a blistering pace by Sauber standards. He has racked up five top 10 finishes and 13 points, and he currently sits in 15th place in the driver standings.
While it was widely believed that Leclerc would replace 2007 Formula 1 champion Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari starting next season after it was revealed in June that Ferrari were ready to replace the 38-year-old Finn with Leclercbefore it was even revealed later in the month that Leclerc and Ferrari had reached an agreement that had not yet been signed, this does not look like it will be the case now.
Former Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne was a big fan of Leclerc and wanted to make him a teammate to four-time Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel as soon as possible.
But with Marchionne’s sudden death, Ferrari have been forced to rethink their driver strategy, and as a result of that, it is believed that they have agreed to a two-year contract extension with Raikkonen that is set to be announced on the weekend of the Italian Grand Prix, which is Ferrari’s home race. This race is scheduled to be contested on Sunday, September 2.
If this move ends up being confirmed, it would mean that Leclerc would not be able to drive for Ferrari until at least the 2021 season. With him outperforming teammate Marcus Ericsson on a regular basis, it would be unlikely that he would return to Sauber for another season, so he would likely move to Haas, the only other Ferrari-powered team on the grid aside of Ferrari and Sauber.
Haas did not sign Leclerc for the 2017 season, as they wanted experienced drivers to fill their lineup. But Leclerc has proven in his rookie season that he is more than capable of pulling his weight, if not more, if given the opportunity to sign with Formula 1’s lone American team.
If Leclerc does end up signing with Haas like he is expected to, it would likely mean that Romain Grosjean, who has driven for Haas ever since they came to Formula 1 in the 2016 season, would be left without a ride as opposed to the team’s other driver, Kevin Magnussen.
Grosjean has been the victim of several self-inflicted wounds so far this season, and these wounds have cost him many valuable points in the driver standings. They have also cost Haas many valuable points in the constructor standings, and Haas are losing their patience with the 32-year-old Frenchman as a result of this.
If not for these self-inflicted wounds, Grosjean could very well be in the battle to be the “best of the rest” driver behind the Ferrari, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsports and Aston Martin Red Bull Racing drivers, and Haas could be leading the battle to be the “best of the rest” team behind Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull Racing.
In the first eight races of the season, Grosjean had a top finish of 11th place in equipment that teammate Kevin Magnussen has utilized to the point where he is in the battle to be the “best of the rest”, as he sits in eighth in the driver standings with 45 points, seven points behind Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg (52 points) in seventh.
Grosjean has since secured three top 10 finishes, but he still sits down in 14th in the standings with 21 points, 24 points behind Magnussen.
Also if not for Grosjean’s self-inflicted wounds, Haas could be leading the battle to be the “best of the rest” team behind Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull Racing. Instead, they currently sit in fifth place in the constructor standings with 66 points, 16 points behind Renault Sport (82 points) in fourth.
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