Christian Danner believes Charles Leclerc’s career would look very different if he’d chosen Red Bull

Photo by Wan Mikhail Roslan/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Christian Danner believes that Charles Leclerc would have a more impressive CV had he joined Red Bull instead of Ferrari.

The Monegasque driver is now in his eighth season with Ferrari, but he still hasn’t come close to fighting for the championship. The team haven’t delivered a car capable of challenging, and strategic missteps combined with mistakes from Leclerc haven’t helped his cause.

Following a winless 2025 season, reports began circulating about his future. Although under contract until 2029, there are suggestions he could look to leave as early as 2026 with interest from other teams growing.

This year’s SF-26 has been solid, and Ferrari have finished third in every race so far. Leclerc is enjoying a good battle with Lewis Hamilton, but the car isn’t yet fast enough to take the fight to Mercedes.

Danner thinks this situation will be weighing on Leclerc’s mind as he considers what comes next. The former F1 driver feels things might have unfolded differently if Leclerc had chosen Red Bull earlier in his career.

Christian Danner says Charles Leclerc would have ‘major successes’ if he raced for Red Bull

Red Bull reached out to Leclerc’s camp last year as they were preparing for the possibility of Max Verstappen leaving the team. Speaking to Motorsport-Magazin, Danner said that Leclerc might have had ‘major successes’ had he made the move to Milton Keynes.

“Charles Leclerc is indeed underrated when it comes to his actual performance,” Danner said. “This is partly down to the fact that the regulations are what they are this year, and he can no longer show in qualifying what he’s actually capable of.

“Of course, it’s also down to Ferrari, no question about it. They’ve obviously kept putting a bit of a brake on things time and again. A Leclerc who had, say, driven for Red Bull or McLaren for years would certainly have a few major successes to his name by now.

“And, on the other hand, there’s one thing we mustn’t forget. Leclerc is also a bit of a self-made man, so staying at Ferrari has various advantages and various disadvantages. I reckon he knows exactly what he’s capable of.