Windsor claims Leclerc’s options are limited outside of Ferrari

Peter Windsor thinks Charles Leclerc is a strong driver, who in a good car would certainly fight for the world title. However, the renowned Formula 1 journalist believes the Ferrari driver is not currently performing at the top of his game. Moreover, he advises Leclerc to stay with Ferrari.

"If Leclerc was driving a Red Bull, he'd be winning Grand Prix at some point this year," argues Windsor, who thus still rates Max Verstappen higher. "It wouldn't be easy against Max, but he would be there or thereabouts. And I think if he was in a Red Bull, he'd be right up there for the championship."

According to Windsor, the chances of the Monegasque becoming Verstappen's teammate at Red Bull in the future are nil. "But he's not, and that's not going to happen, I don't think. As I said in the last live stream, I don't think they're ever going to put Charles Leclerc in a Red Bull so long as Max is in the other car," he says in a debrief on his own YouTube channel.

Staying with Ferrari?

At the moment, that leaves him with three other teams to choose from: staying longer at Ferrari or switching to Aston Martin or Mercedes. The 71-year-old British journalist would go for the first option. "Right now, he's probably better off staying with Freddie Vasseur, believing in Freddie's talent at Ferrari, than he is going to Aston Martin, where it'll be a bit of a mess, and Mercedes, where I guess he would only go there if he's replacing Lewis", he said.

At Aston Martin, Windsor does not feel it could be anything for Leclerc, while Mercedes only seems an option if Hamilton leaves. "but then he's got to beat George Russell. Not easy at all, much more difficult than beating Carlos Sainz. So, right now, I don't think Charles should be thinking of leaving Ferrari or where he would go. He needs to be thinking, what was I doing in Miami? I had a bad weekend in Melbourne, that's my bad weekend of the year. What am I doing repeating that in Miami? That's terrible. And so, he's got to dig a bit deeper going into the rest of the year.."