“If I had to choose Max Verstappen’s teammate, I would pick Charles Leclerc” – F1. Former Ferrari engineer Jock Clear compares Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.

The 2026 Formula 1 season will be a very unusual one for Jock Clear. The experienced British engineer has recently left Ferrari and is preparing to experience the next championship as a neutral observer, a completely new situation after more than ten years spent at the heart of the Formula 1 paddock. The former Ferrari figure has also offered a direct comparison between Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen.

Jock Clear was a key presence at Maranello. Over the course of his career, he worked as Charles Leclerc’s performance coach and collaborated with multiple world champions, including Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, before taking on the role of head of the Ferrari Driver Academy in recent years. While remaining fully convinced of the Monégasque driver’s talent, Clear acknowledges that the current focus of Formula 1 is rightly centred on Max Verstappen.

Leclerc’s extraordinary talent, but the spotlight is now on Verstappen

In an interview with CasinoHawks, the 62-year-old Englishman offered a clear and measured analysis of the superiority shown by the four-time world champion, admitting how difficult it is to explain Verstappen’s advantage in purely rational terms. “I don’t know anything about Max Verstappen, and in a way it’s a bit frustrating, because from the outside he just looks like an extraordinary talent,” Clear explained.

According to the former Ferrari engineer, data and technical analysis alone are not enough to fully describe what makes Max Verstappen different from the rest. “If you try to calculate why he is so much faster than the other Red Bull and Racing Bulls drivers, as an external observer you can’t quite close the circle. The numbers simply don’t add up.” That observation leads to an unavoidable conclusion. “You can’t help but come to the conclusion that Max is truly special.”

Clear also referred to Verstappen’s performances at the end of the 2025 season, pointing to them as a benchmark for the entire grid. “What he did at the end of 2025 was simply incredible,” he added. “That is the level everyone else has to aspire to right now.”

“I don’t think I’m doing Lando Norris a disservice by saying this. I believe Lando is probably aware that he still has more to give and that next year he will be a stronger driver, with the confidence of having the number one on his car. But he still needs to grow before reaching the same level as Max.”

In closing, Jock Clear did not forget the driver he worked with so closely. “Charles can become world champion. If we look at him this year, and with no offence to the McLaren drivers, I believe Charles Leclerc is the only driver who can compete with Max Verstappen right now. If I had two cars and one was Max’s, and I was asked who I would want in the other to try to beat him, I would choose Charles Leclerc.”

Jock Clear’s endorsement carries significant weight given his history of coaching the sport’s elite. While the 2026 technical reset offers every team a fresh start, Clear’s analysis suggests that the human element—specifically the raw, unquantifiable speed of Verstappen—remains the greatest hurdle for the field. For Leclerc, entering the 2026 era alongside Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari, the challenge will be to prove Jock Clear right by finally bringing the fight to the Dutchman on equal footing. If the “math” finally balances out, F1 fans could be in for the greatest head-to-head battle the sport has seen in decades.