italian f1 idol rccardo patrese claims Charles Leclerc is the only driver who can compete on an equal footing with Max Verstappen in the same car. He stressed that even 2025 drivers’ champion Lando Norris is not capable of doing this.

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

In a recent interview with Leo Turrini Sports NewsRicardo Patrese delivers a speech lewis hamiltonIn 2025, he struggled at Ferrari. When asked about the fact that Charles Leclerc has continued to surpass him throughout the season, the Italian replied:

“What’s the surprise then? Even though the new champion is called Norris, the only driver who can compete with the absolute phenomenon Verstappen in the same car is none other than Carletto (Charles).”

McLaren had the most dominant car in the first half of the season and more or less maintained that dominance at every track until the end of the season. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were in a good position to win their first Drivers’ Championship title and the former did just that, albeit by just two points more Max Verstappenhis performance was active in the second half of the season.

Meanwhile, Ferrari’s performance deteriorated as the season progressed. Despite this, Charles Leclerc has always remained competitive, out-qualifying teammate Lewis Hamilton in 19 of the 24 races and outscoring teammate Lewis Hamilton by 86 points overall.

Leclerc and Verstappen have been competing against each other since their karting days, and one of the highlights is the “accidental” story that has become part of F1 lore. Although the Red Bull driver has four titles to his name while his Ferrari rival has none, he believes Leclerc is the best qualifier on the grid.

Charles Leclerc issues ‘now or never’ warning to Ferrari ahead of 2026 rules reset

Charles Leclerc for seven seasons ferrari The carrot being chased was the chance to win the F1 Drivers’ Championship with the most successful and iconic team in the sport. However, the team always fell short in some area, whether it was a failure in race strategy or simply not having enough pace to consistently get on the podium and win.

2025 could be the team’s worst year in the ground effects era, starting with Ferrari posing a huge threat to Red Bull in 2022 and 2023. Next year, F1 will enter an era of new technology and Leclerc wants the team to return to winning ways and build on it.

In an interview with Sky Sports last week, Monaco discussed his expectations for 2026, saying:

“It’s tough, but at the same time, I think the whole team has a huge motivation for next year. Because it’s a huge change and a huge opportunity to show what Ferrari can do, it’s an opportunity that will never come again. So, I really hope that we can start this new era in the right way because it will be important four years from now.”

This year there were reports that Charles Leclerc’s manager has held talks with Aston Martin, McLaren and Mercedes If Ferrari fails to become the front-runner under the new rules, a team change in 2027 is possible. This makes his “don’t miss it before it comes” statement sounding more like an ultimatum to Ferrari, with him possibly quitting the team after next year.