F1 icon undercuts Lando Norris; names Charles Leclerc as the only driver on par with Max Verstappen

Italian F1 icon Riccardo Patrese has claimed that Charles Leclerc is the only driver who can compete with Max Verstappen on equal footing in the same car. He emphasized that even the 2025 drivers' champion, Lando Norris, isn't capable of doing that.

After Daniel Ricciardo, Verstappen has never had a teammate at Red Bull who has consistently challenged him in any way. Be it Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson, or Yuki Tsunoda, they came, failed, and left.

In a recent interview with Leo Turrini for Quotidiano Sportivo, Riccardo Patrese addressed Lewis Hamilton's subpar performance at Ferrari in 2025. When presented with the fact about how Charles Leclerc outperformed him consistently through the season, the Italian replied:

"And what's the surprise? Even if the new champion is called Norris, the only driver around who, with the same car, could compete with Verstappen, who is an absolute phenomenon, is none other than Carletto (Charles)."

McLaren had the most dominant car in the first half of the season and remained so more or less across a variety of circuits until the end of the season. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were in a great position to win their first drivers' title, and the former did, albeit with only two more points over Max Verstappen, whose performance came alive in the second half of the season.

Meanwhile, Ferrari's performance deteriorated as the season progressed. Nonetheless, Charles Leclerc was consistently competitive and outqualified teammate Lewis Hamilton in 19 of 24 races, and outscored him by 86 points overall.

Leclerc and Verstappen have competed against each other since their karting days, a highlight of which was the "inchident" story, which has become a part of F1's lore. Though the Red Bull driver has four championships, while his Ferrari rival has none, he rates Leclerc as the best qualifier on the grid.

Charles Leclerc deliver 'now or never' warning to Ferrari before 2026 regulations reset

Charles Leclerc at the F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Charles Leclerc has spent seven seasons with Ferrari chasing the carrot that is the opportunity to win the F1 drivers' championship with the sport's most successful and iconic team. However, the team has always lacked in some department, be it failing at race strategies or simply not having enough pace for consistent podiums and wins.

2025 was possibly the worst year the team had in the ground-effect era, which began with Ferrari being a formidable threat to Red Bull in 2022 and 2023. Next year, F1 will enter a new technical era, and Leclerc wants the team to return to winning ways and build on that.

In an interview with Sky Sports last week, the Monegasque spoke about his expectations for 2026, saying:

"It's tough, but at the same time, I think the whole team is hugely motivated for next year. Because it's such a big change, a huge opportunity to show what Ferrari is capable of, and it's now or never. So, I really hope that we will start this new era on the right foot, because it's important for the four years after."

There have been reports this year that Charles Leclerc's manager has had talks with Aston Martin, McLaren, and Mercedes for a potential team switch in 2027 if Ferrari fails to be a front-runner under the new regulations. This makes his 'now or never' statement sound more like an ultimatum to the Scuderia, which could see him exit the team after next year.

Edited by Yash Kotak