A lot of what I'm gonna talk about in this post I've already covered on my page before but what better time to restart some of these conversations than in the context of Charles' renewal announcement?
There's no issue as a fan of Charles to have your own opinions on his career choices. What I think starts getting really deep in "Why are you even a fan?" territory is projecting onto him your own dream you have for him instead of simply supporting what his actual dream is.
Charles wants to be a world champion with Ferrari. That does not mean he would not be happy to become a world champion with any other team or even that he would never leave Ferrari if he thought staying would prevent him from ever achieving that title. But it would mean that Charles would have not achieved everything he wanted to achieve in F1. Maybe it would be mission accomplished for you but it would not be mission accomplished for him and, in my opinion, that sentiment sort of defeats the purpose of being a fan.
I understand a lot of these feelings come from fear that a talent like Charles could, unfairly, never win a world championship. But F1 is too complex of a sport, with too many intertwined factors, for there to ever be a clear path for someone, especially an outsider like us fans, to say "This is exactly what Charles Leclerc needs to do to win a world championship". And to be completely honest with you, I've seen other cars the past 8 years Charles has been in the sport that to me seem like cars he would manage to win a championship in with ease. I've seen other teams at times look like a better oiled machine than Ferrari. But in the past 8 years, there isn't a scenario for which I can confidently say "Charles would have 100% won a championship in this season with this team" and that has 0 to do with him, his skills, his mentality and everything to do with, 90% of the time, poor driver management on the teams' part that I can't say with absolute certainity Charles wouldn't haven't been a victim of.
Also, I hate that the appreciation, respect even, Charles shows to Ferrari, to the team and to the people who have helped him get to Formula 1, is so often portrayed as a negative thing when it's one of Charles' best qualities. It's extremely rare in this sport to see someone so dedicated to trying to always show, through their words but mostly through their actions, how grateful they are for all the work that has been put into helping them achieve a dream. Hoping to one day be able to give back as much to your team as you feel they have given you by restoring their former glory does not have to be blind loyalty or Stockholm Syndrome and I don't understand why so many people have decided that can't be true for Charles when we know he had one foot out the door in 2022, when we know Aston Martin was showing genuine interest in signing him and he didn't let himself get fooled by all the hype around Newey...
Going back to my original point, you can absolutely have your own thoughts and feelings about Charles' career, but when you have gotten to a point where you're starting to sound like you don't even know the driver you rep and, especially, his decisions, that at the end of the day only affect his life, are actually affecting yours in a really negative manner... maybe it's time to reconsider being a fan. At the end of the day, having an athlete you support is supposed to be fun, it's supposed to be something you get joy out of, and I don't think you're getting any of that if you insist on continue supporting someone you don't actually want to support.
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