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Charles Leclerc says he would be happy to see Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli crowned Formula 1 world champion if Ferrari cannot take the title in 2026, pointing to the young Italian's enthusiasm as something that brings back memories of his own arrival in the sport.
Leclerc, who has won once this season at Silverstone, said his immediate focus remains on adding more victories rather than thinking about the championship.
"I'm not thinking about the championship just yet; I want to win another race. The work I'm putting in is paying off," Leclerc told Sky Sports Italia.
However, the Monegasque driver, meaning a person from Monaco, made clear who he would support if Ferrari were unable to come out on top.
"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."
Antonelli will return from Formula 1's summer break holding a comfortable lead in the drivers' championship ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver is 50 points clear of Leclerc's Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton and 59 ahead of George Russell, while Leclerc sits a further 81 points behind Russell.
Leclerc's only victory of the season came at Silverstone, where Antonelli suffered a car problem while chasing the Ferrari driver and ultimately finished outside the points.
While Antonelli leads the title fight, Leclerc is also looking ahead to Ferrari's development program and wants the team to maintain an aggressive approach as the season moves on.
Speaking to GPblog and other media, Leclerc said upgrades had become particularly significant in the current championship because they could produce major performance gains.
"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."
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