Leclerc reveals he'd be happy to see this rival crowned if Ferrari fails: 'Reminds me of myself'

Charles Leclerc says he would be happy to see Kimi Antonelli win the Formula 1 title, given that Ferrari cannot do so this year. Leclerc has won a single race so far in 2026, at Silverstone, after Antonelli suffered a car issue while chasing him, leaving the Mercedes driver outside the points that weekend. The Ferrari driver's goal is to win more Grands Prix this year. "I’m not thinking about the championship just yet; I want to win another race. The work I’m putting in is paying off," he told Sky Sports Italia. The Monegasque driver then added: "If Ferrari didn’t win the title, I’d be happy for Kimi to win it. He’s incredibly enthusiastic, it reminds me of myself when I made my debut." Leclerc and Antonelli on the podium together at Spa - Photo: Race Pictures Leclerc and Antonelli on the podium together at Spa - Photo: Race Pictures The F1 standings heading into the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix Entering the first race after the summer break, Antonelli has a comfortable lead in the drivers' standings. The young Italian is 50 points ahead of Leclerc's teammate, Lewis Hamilton, and 59 points ahead of George Russell. Leclerc himself is 81 points behind Russell, who sits in fourth place. Leclerc calls on Ferrari to maintain clear direction with 'aggressive' updates Looking ahead to the rest of the season, Leclerc wants Ferrari to continue with its development approach. He told GPblog, among others: "That’s the [current] championship again. Upgrades are so much more significant than in the past because it makes us do such a big step forward. "We've seen it with McLaren this weekend [in Hungary], so it's going to be important that we stay on top of it and that we keep being aggressive, as aggressive as we've been with the development programme. We'll see how it goes."