The 2026 season will be a decidedly unusual one for Jock Clear. The experienced British engineer has recently left Ferrari and is therefore preparing to experience a Formula 1 World Championship for the first time in many years as a simple observer rather than as an active member of a team.
The former performance coach of Charles Leclerc – who over the course of his career also worked closely with Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, before becoming the head of the Ferrari Driver Academy in his final years with the Scuderia – is convinced that the Monegasque driver is a formidable talent. At the same time, however, he is fully aware that, at present, the spotlight is rightly focused on Max Verstappen.
Jock Clear’s comments
In an interview given to the website CasinoHawks, the 62-year-old Englishman spoke highly of the four-time world champion, while admitting that he does not know him on a personal level: “I know nothing about Max Verstappen and in a way that is a bit frustrating, because from the outside he really does look like an incredible talent. If you try to work out why he is so much faster than the other Red Bull and Racing Bulls drivers, as an external observer you cannot quite close the circle, the numbers simply do not add up.
You inevitably end up concluding that Max really is something special. What he did at the end of 2025 was simply incredible. That is the level everyone else has to aim for right now.”
“I do not think I am playing down Lando Norris,” the former Ferrari man added. “I think Lando is probably aware that he still has a lot to give and that next year he will be a stronger driver, with the confidence that comes from having the number one on his car. But he still has to grow before reaching the same level as Max.”
However, praise for Leclerc was also unmistakable: “Charles can become a world champion. If we look at him this year, and with no offence meant to the McLaren guys, I believe Leclerc is the only driver capable of competing with Verstappen at the moment. It may seem unfair to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who are fighting at that level.
But 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.”
As the F1 world prepares for the technical shift of 2026, the debate over who can truly challenge Max Verstappen remains more intense than ever. Jock Clear’s perspective, built on decades of working with the sport’s greatest icons, places Charles Leclerc in a unique category of raw speed and potential. Whether the machinery from Maranello will provide the Monegasque with the platform to realize this potential remains to be seen, but the internal belief in his talent is clearly as strong as ever. For fans, the prospect of a direct showdown between these two generational talents continues to be the most anticipated narrative in the paddock.
