Why few could blame Leclerc for following the example of Hamilton’s exit bombshell

Thirteen races in 19 weeks. The first part of the 2022 Formula 1 campaign has been gruelling, with little allowance for respite and decompression. Now the summer break is underway, and the drivers find themselves chilling by a swimming pool, perhaps they might allow their minds to wander. For instance, Charles Leclerc could very well be entertaining for the briefest of moments what life might be like away from Ferrari.

There’s absolutely nothing to suggest he’s weighing up heading for the exit, especially as he holds a contract with the Scuderia until the end of 2026. And with George Russell clearly the future of Mercedes, Max Verstappen betrothed to Red Bull for a similarly long time and Lando Norris the face of McLaren for the foreseeable, there’s the small detail of where Leclerc would go should he rock the paddock by binning his red overalls.

But having been affiliated with McLaren since the age of 13, few might have predicted Lewis Hamilton deciding to up sticks and sign for the Silver Arrows for 2013 and beyond. However, partway through a 2012 season dogged by botched pitstops, haphazard strategy and a rapid but unreliable race car, he was finally tipped over the edge. Sound familiar?

Arguably the greatest motivator for Hamilton departing Woking was not what took place on track. There was a tense dynamic between him and the looming presence of Ron Dennis – who despite resigning as team principal in 2009, continued to exert a level of control over his driver that seems unimaginable for the autonomous Hamilton we’ve known over the past decade. Naturally, the four-year spell without a crown following 2008 was also a major cause for despair. Particularly as Hamilton had bounced back from his 2011 nadir to reaffirm he was among the very fastest drivers that grand prix racing had ever known.

Seven pole positions aboard the F1-75, outfoxing Verstappen for DRS to win in Bahrain plus overtaking his chief rival three times in Austria means Leclerc has made a case for being considered among that company, too. His current 80-point deficit to the defending champion, with nine rounds to play, is only 11 shy of how far Hamilton finished adrift of Sebastian Vettel.

Like this time 10 years ago, Red Bull is being allowed to win races it shouldn’t be – Verstappen having signed off for summer by winning in Hungary from 10th, having also spun, after Ferrari unfathomably pinned its hopes on the hard tyres. Back then, it was Hamilton being hurt by pitstop problems in Bahrain and infamously losing pole and a likely certain win in Spain for a fuel issue. McLaren’s strong development of the MP4-27 meant it was the quickest car of the lot come the mid-point of the year, as the Ferrari is today.

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Like this time 10 years ago, Red Bull is being allowed to win races it shouldn’t be – Verstappen having won in Hungary from 10th despite spinning

Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images

Then Hamilton lost victory in Singapore to a broken gearbox, stumbled with a suspension issue in qualifying in Japan, a rear anti-roll bar in South Korea and a fuel-pump failure in Abu Dhabi. The number of points squandered was close to triple figures. A major driver error arrived at Valencia for the European GP, when the Brit tagged with Pastor Maldonado. Leclerc’s biggest blunder came unaided, when he wiped himself out of the lead of the French GP. The quantity of team-based errors, though, is much more similar.

If Leclerc, having taken a sip of his Aperol Spritz on holiday, is just for a moment contemplating whether it’s better to stick of twist, consider this. The seismic regulation change has already come. Hamilton didn’t move to Mercedes for what it might offer in their first season together but instead knowing the Three-Pointed Star was well ahead with developing its mule hybrid powertrain that would come to dominate F1 from 2014. Now, the shift to ground effects has already arrived and the pecking order destabilised. That’s what allowed Ferrari to take a stride forward to be in contention this season, and what makes the Maranello failings all the more crushing for first-time title protagonist Leclerc.

Leclerc’s biggest blunder came unaided, when he wiped himself out of the lead of the French GP. The quantity of team-based errors, though, is much more similar

The Scuderia might have already missed its best chance of championship glory should Red Bull’s pedigree for developing strongly carry over from the previous generation. Adrian Newey and his design office know to target the RB18’s weight problem most of all for its successor. That’s why Ferrari dropping the ball in 2022 might be so significant should it not keep pace, driver and car having been ready to fight for the ultimate glory before the team.

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There’s also a slightly intangible factor, in so far as the attraction of driving for Ferrari at any point in time is arguably greater than the draw of a race-winning McLaren was for Hamilton 10 years ago. Leclerc leaving would entail turning his back on the set-up that has nurtured him through the Ferrari Driver Academy since 2016.

Nevertheless, in the most unlikely scenario that Leclerc decided enough was enough at Ferrari, having continued to miss out in 2022 through the team’s blunders rather than his own, as Hamilton has shown, it wouldn’t be a move totally without precedent.

Leclerc leaving would entail turning his back on the set-up that has nurtured him through the Ferrari Driver Academy since 2016

Photo by: Ferrari