Guenther Steiner tells eight-time F1 race winner he ‘needs to leave’ his current team to win a world championship

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The Formula 1 drivers’ championship is the goal of almost every young boy or girl when they first step into a go-kart.

It’s seen by many as the pinnacle of motorsport and this year, it looks like three drivers are in contention to take the drivers’ championship home after the first seven races of the F1 calendar.

McLaren star Oscar Piastri leads the way, 13 points ahead of his teammate Lando Norris.

However, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix saw Max Verstappen stand on the top step of the podium for the second time this year, closing the gap to Piastri by 10 points in an updated Red Bull car that now looks very competitive.

For every other driver on the grid, it’s back to the drawing board with a new set of regulations on the way in 2026, unless Mercedes or Ferrari can produce a game-changing set of updates very quickly.

This raises questions about the futures of some of the stars of Formula 1 who have had to settle for decent but unspectacular cars too often in their careers.

Guenther Steiner has now suggested that one of the longest-running current partnerships on the grid might need to come to an end for the driver in question to finally win his first F1 title.

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Charles Leclerc told he might need to leave Ferrari to win an F1 world championship

Steiner was taking part in a feature called Gas or Brake on The Red Flags Podcast where he had to decide whether a statement was true or false.

The statement in question was, ‘Charles Leclerc needs to leave Ferrari to win a world championship,’ to which Steiner answered: “I’ll go gas, he needs a new challenge.

“I think he’s been there a long time, sometimes change is good like Lewis left Mercedes to go to Ferrari.

“I think Charles, it’s like something new because at some stage everything just becomes routine.

“He is not in a position to win a championship, so if he maybe goes somewhere else, maybe he gets lucky, you never know.

“But he could be unlucky and go to the wrong team like Fernando Alonso did.”

READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory

Where could Charles Leclerc go if he decided to leave Ferrari?

Charles Leclerc is one of the fastest drivers in Formula 1 and already has eight wins and 26 pole positions to his name.

Martin Brundle suggested Leclerc was F1’s best qualifier on the grid at one point, ahead of the likes of Verstappen and his new teammate Lewis Hamilton.

There would have been plenty of hope within the Leclerc camp that 2025 could be the year he finally challenged for the drivers’ championship.

Ferrari ended last season as arguably the quickest team on the grid, but their work over the winter has seen them take a huge step backwards.

The Monegasque driver has a single podium to his name this season and is already 85 points behind Piastri, and while Leclerc is signed up to a long-term deal at Ferrari, it’ll be interesting to see how long he backs the Scuderia going forward if next year’s car is another dud.

Mercedes would be the obvious next step if Leclerc did decide to leave Ferrari at the end of the year, with George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli out of contract.

Max Verstappen is constantly linked with leaving Red Bull, and Leclerc would be a good fit to be his replacement.

However, it’s hard to imagine Leclerc taking Steiner’s advice at this time, even if the next few races don’t look rosy for Ferrari.