Ferrari boss breaks silence on Charles Leclerc's 'now or never' ultimatum for 2026 F1 reset

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has responded to Charles Leclerc's 'now or never' ultimatum to the team ahead of the 2026 F1 regulations reset. Vasseur said that while the entire organization echoes the Monegasque driver's passion for a turnaround, he emphasized "there is no magic bullet" that can make it happen.

Leclerc's comments came in the wake of a disastrous 2025 for Ferrari, where it witnessed a downslide as the season progressed. Speaking with Sky Sports after the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP, the eight-time Grand Prix winner said:

"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."

In a recent interview with the media, Frederic Vasseur touched upon several topics about Ferrari's future, Lewis Hamilton's poor form, and the 2026 regulations. The Frenchman also responded to Charles Leclerc's deadline of sorts, saying (via Quotidiano Sportivo):

"I have no doubts about him; we know each other well. When he says we're at the now-or-never stage, he's expressing everyone's desire—his, mine, Lewis's, the team's. We have to improve together. in everything. There's no magic bullet that fixes everything. The important thing is that we collaborate with each other, that we work as a team."

Leclerc, who completed his seventh season with Ferrari in F1 in 2025, heavily outperformed new teammate Lewis Hamilton. The Monegasque stood on seven podiums in 24 races, while his British teammate failed to hit the ground running in the first year of this historic partnership. Leclerc finished fifth in the drivers' standings with 86 points more than Hamilton at the end of the season.

His 'now or never' comment also had the subtext of reports claiming that he was inquiring with teams like Mercedes, McLaren, and Aston Martin for a 2027 switch if Ferrari fails to be competitive in the new regulations cycle next year.

Charles Leclerc comments on Ferrari's unpopular development decision in 2025

The Ferrari SF25 of Charles Leclerc at the 2025 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Charles Leclerc commented on Ferrari's unpopular decision to stop development of its 2025 car early in the season. In April, once the team saw how much performance it lacked compared to McLaren, which eventually won the constructors' championship with six races to go in the season, the Frederic Vasseur-led team decided to allocate more resources to its 2026 car.

This cost them massively in the 2025 season, as Lewis Hamilton's struggles amplified, and Leclerc got frustrated with the technical difficulties as well. However, when the Monegasque was asked if he regretted the team's decision in a recent interview, he replied (via RN365):

"Well, not so much because we were at a technical disadvantage from the first race. So, it's not like it changed our approach to the season, and we saw it relatively quickly that we wouldn't be fighting for the world title because McLaren was too strong. Red Bull was obviously starting to make big gains."

Elaborating on how they weighed the costs and potential benefits of the decision, Charles Leclerc added:

"It wasn't very much of a point to put all our resources into trying to take the third or second place, if everything was going super well, in the constructors', at the cost of next year, whichever cost it may be. It’s never something you want to do. I would have much preferred pushing the development the whole year to try and clinch that world title, 100%. But if you are in the position that we were in at the beginning of the year, I think it was kind of a no-brainer, so I don’t regret it."

Ferrari finished fourth in the constructors' standings behind McLaren, Mercedes, and Red Bull. If their performance trend isn't reversed in 2026, Charles Leclerc could leave the Italian team for good.

Edited by Yash Kotak