The until now team principal of Alpine, Otmar Szafnauer, has recommended Ferrari’s management not to interfere in Charles Leclerc’s situation, stating that the Maranello team should “leave him alone” while he works through a difficult moment in competition with Lewis Hamilton.
During an appearance on the podcast High Performance Racing, Szafnauer shared his thoughts on the 2026 season while Ferrari is in its halfway break, occupying second place in the constructors’ championship with 307 points, 72 behind the leader, Mercedes.
Currently, Hamilton is second in the drivers’ standings with 169 points, after achieving his first victory with the team in the Barcelona race and accumulating four podiums. Leclerc, on the other hand, is fourth with 138 points, with one win at the British Grand Prix and three podiums, but also two retirements in Monaco and Spain.
In response to a question about how a team principal should handle a halfway conversation about Leclerc’s performance, Szafnauer firmly rejected the idea of interventions. “No, leave him alone. I wouldn’t have a conversation, he should receive support instead,” he stated.
Szafnauer pointed out that Leclerc has improved recently and is now more competitive against Hamilton. “At the start of the year, Lewis was a bit ahead of Leclerc compared to how he is now,” he said, noting that Charles has made a remarkable effort in the past races.
Rob Smedley, former race engineer of Ferrari, agreed with Szafnauer, emphasizing that this is the first time Leclerc has encountered a teammate who has a significant performance advantage. Smedley added that Charles has shown signs of frustration with the car, and despite changes to the brake system components, he seems to have struggled to adapt.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
