For years, Formula 1 fans have speculated on whether or not Charles Leclerc could grow fed up with Ferrari and their consistent abundance of shortcomings, year after year.
The end of the 2024 season, when the team came as close to their first constructor championship since 2008 as they've been by nearly running down McLaren for the top spot, proved to give the team nothing more than false hope for 2025.
While they are within striking distance of P2 in the standings again this year, it's hard to find anybody who would suggest this year's car is anything better than the fourth fastest car on the grid.
Now it appears that Leclerc's patience, tested time and time again since his 2019 arrival at the Maranello-based team with which he's been since his junior days in 2016, has grown thin.
Reports suggest that Leclerc, whose 2024 contract extension is only said to extend "beyond 2024", has begun exploring the possibility of leaving Ferrari after the 2026 season if they miss the mark upon the start of the new era of regulations.
Leclerc's management team have reportedly already held exploratory talks with Mercedes, McLaren, and Aston Martin, and seeing as how Max Verstappen's own Red Bull future continues to be questioned, you'd have to imagine talks with Red Bull could occur at some point in the near future as well.
The "next man up" at Ferrari currently seems to be Ollie Bearman, but considering the fact that Lewis Hamilton might well retire, or at the very least leave Ferrari, after the 2026 season as well, Bearman has been linked to that seat.
Who would replace Charles Leclerc at Ferrari?
Sauber rookie and reigning Formula 2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto has emerged as the driver with the best chance of taking over the 27-year-old Monegasque's seat should he leave Ferrari before the 2027 season.
Bortoleto has been extremely impressive in 2025 and shown flashes of brilliance throughout his rookie season.
After failing to score a point in any of the first 10 Grand Prix weekends of his career, he has since outscored 18 points; veteran teammate Nico Hulkenberg has scored 21, and Hulkenberg's output was bolstered by his first career podium finish. Bortoleto owns a top finish of sixth place this season, plus two eighth place efforts and a ninth place result.
The 20-year-old Brazilian became the first driver to win the Formula 3 championship one year, the Formula 2 championship the next year, and then graduate to Formula 1 since current world championship leader Oscar Piastri, though even Piastri did not make the jump from F2 to F1 the year after winning the F2 title.
Leclerc and George Russell both went from GP3 Series champion to Formula 2 champion to Formula 1, with Leclerc arriving with Sauber in 2018 and Russell arriving with Williams in 2019.
While there may not be nearly as many driver lineup changes between the 2025 and 2026 Formula 1 seasons as there were between 2024 and 2025, it's anybody's guess as to what the 2027 grid might look like.