{"id":199177,"date":"2025-10-09T01:41:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T01:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/199177\/"},"modified":"2025-10-09T01:41:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T01:41:10","slug":"toto-wolff-has-already-made-up-his-mind-on-charles-leclerc-amid-2027-mercedes-rumours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/199177\/","title":{"rendered":"Toto Wolff has already made up his mind on Charles Leclerc amid 2027 Mercedes rumours"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\/ Follow us on Google Discover <\/a> <\/p>\n

The 2025 Formula 1 driver market hasn\u2019t thrown up any surprises yet, but speculation is already starting for the following season.<\/p>\n

Formula 1\u2019s 2026 regulation changes<\/a> are going to create a new pecking order in the paddock.<\/p>\n

Cadillac are entering as the 11th team on the grid, Sauber will become the Audi works team, and Aston Martin will switch from Mercedes<\/a> to Honda power units.<\/p>\n

A handful of drivers are still out of contract for next season, including George Russell<\/a> and Andrea Kimi Antonelli<\/a>, but far more will enter the final year of their deals in 2026.<\/p>\n

TEAMDRIVER 1DRIVER 2AlpinePierre GaslyN\/AAston MartinFernando AlonsoLance StrollAudiGabriel BortoletoNico HulkenbergCadillacValtteri BottasSergio PerezFerrariCharles LeclercLewis HamiltonHaasEsteban OconOliver BearmanMcLarenLando NorrisOscar PiastriMercedesN\/AN\/ARacing BullsN\/AN\/ARed Bull RacingMax VerstappenN\/AWilliamsAlex AlbonCarlos Sainz2026 confirmed F1 drivers<\/p>\n

All it would take is one top driver to decide they want to switch teams for the domino effect to start, and movement to happen up and down the paddock.<\/p>\n

Some drivers appear to already be positioning themselves to move on if they\u2019re not impressed with their current team\u2019s offering, and another opportunity comes their way.<\/p>\n

Oscar Piastri has been linked with Ferrari<\/a> as tensions rise in the McLaren camp between him and Lando Norris.<\/p>\n

A seat could become available at the Scuderia if Charles Leclerc<\/a> decides he\u2019s waited long enough for a championship-challenging car and Fred Vasseur\u2019s<\/a> team don\u2019t deliver in 2026.<\/p>\n

Leclerc\u2019s camp are reportedly in discussions with Mercedes<\/a> over a potential move in 2027, and team principal Toto Wolff has already made his feelings clear about the Monegasque driver.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc\u2019s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend<\/a><\/p>\n

\"FerrariPhoto by Jay Hirano\/SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Getty ImagesToto Wolff once called Charles Leclerc a \u2018champion in the making\u2019 amid 2027 Mercedes rumours<\/p>\n

After the 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix, when an engine issue denied Leclerc his first F1 victory, Wolff was quick to praise the Monegasque driver via Formula 1\u2019s official website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cIn Leclerc, I think we\u2019re seeing a young champion in the making who was the emotional winner [on Sunday]. [He was the] fastest man and fastest machine. He got all the cruel side of motor racing, and it was our [good] fortune.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has a good personality. He is a humble young man, and he\u2019s very fast. The combination of speed, personality and being able to temper your emotions in both directions is a great ingredient.<\/p>\n

Grand Prix starts165Pole positions27Podiums48Wins8Fastest laps10Points1603Best championship result2nd (2022)Charles Leclerc\u2019s Formula 1 career
Accurate as of the 2025 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that many other drivers who have the lion in them, like he certainly has, would have reacted in a much more controversial way about the third place and would have been angry and would have displayed that. None of that you see with Charles.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have always expected him [Leclerc] to be a threat. \u201cHe is in a great car and has the skills and the character to be very successful. It\u2019s a challenge that we really enjoy, and I\u2019m sure Valtteri and Lewis will enjoy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to fight against the best ones in the best machines. When you saw Lewis fighting Sebastian in a car and engine that wasn\u2019t on Sebastian\u2019s level, it motivates them even more.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE: All you need to know about Mercedes F1 CEO and team principal Toto Wolff<\/a><\/p>\n

Could Charles Leclerc end up racing for Mercedes in Formula 1 one day?<\/p>\n

Leclerc hasn\u2019t hidden his frustration with Ferrari in recent races<\/a>, with the Scuderia unlikely to win a Grand Prix this year.<\/p>\n

Whether the current team at Maranello are capable of building a title-winning car based on the evidence of this season is hard to believe, but a lot will change over the winter break.<\/p>\n

Ferrari tied Leclerc down to a long-term deal<\/a>, but like every F1 contract, there will be break clauses available on both sides.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

TalkingPoints<\/p>\n

Which F1 team will Charles Leclerc be driving for in 2027?<\/p>\n

This then raises the question of whether Mercedes would make a move for Leclerc.<\/p>\n

Wolff hasn\u2019t hidden his admiration for Max Verstappen, which suggests that if the right driver is available, he won\u2019t hesitate to try and sign them.<\/p>\n

If Wolff is committed to Antonelli being Mercedes\u2019 long-term number one, then replacing Russell with Leclerc doesn\u2019t make a huge amount of sense.<\/p>\n

However, a combination of Russell and Leclerc would be frightening, but potentially not easy to manage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Follow us on Google Discover The 2025 Formula 1 driver market hasn\u2019t thrown up any surprises yet, but…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":199178,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,63,13275,826,1627,945,806,805,803,804,85,4703],"class_list":["post-199177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-charles-leclerc","tag-ferrari","tag-formula-1-driver-market","tag-mercedes","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-sports","tag-toto-wolff"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199177\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/199178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}