There are a few gentlemen who may not have slept particularly well after the 2026 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix. George Russell is certainly one of them. Not so much because he endured a disastrous Sunday filled with misfortune, mishaps and missed opportunities, ranging from a millimetre-perfect call for crossing the white line at pit exit to the rather bizarre fact that his mechanics, in the heat of the moment, apparently forgot he still had a penalty to serve.

What should truly concern the man widely regarded as the championship favourite at the start of the season, however, is that he now trails his team-mate Kimi Antonelli by 68 points in the drivers' standings.

With 424 still available, 68 points is still hardly decisive. Yet one thing is clear: Russell's margin for error has disappeared. And 2026 was supposed to be his year. At 28 years of age, driving what is arguably the best car on the grid, he surely expected his moment to have arrived. Instead, the Antonelli Express continues to roll through the field like an unstoppable avalanche.

The problem is that Russell already featured in this column after Suzuka, and there is little value in repeating the same story. And while the bizarre finale of yesterday's race saw the asphalt break apart in the final corner, it would be unfair to blame Anthony Noghes for anyone's sleepless night. Nor can FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem or Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali be held directly responsible.

Instead, it’s Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who had a sleepless night in, of all places, Monaco.

Leclerc won his home race once before, in 2024. Beyond that triumph, however, he often seems cursed on the streets of the principality. Whether it was the crumbling asphalt that sent him understeering into the barriers in the final corner - just as it had Lance Stroll earlier - or a brake issue, the result was the same.

Charles Leclerc won his home race in 2024

"I look like an idiot," Leclerc said afterwards. "And when you look like an idiot for a mistake of yours it's fine. But It's borderline dangerous."

The 28-year-old, no longer one of Formula 1's young guns and now armed with a fresh Ferrari contract extension, has other reasons to feel frustrated. When the incident occurred, he was running behind Lewis Hamilton, a driver many had already quietly written off. And, at least in the heat of the moment, Leclerc felt betrayed by Ferrari's strategy when he was called in during the safety car period as part of a double-stack pit stop, effectively eliminating any realistic chance of benefiting from Hamilton's five-second penalty. In the end, it hardly mattered.

Leclerc arrived in Formula 1 like a comet.

His rookie season with Sauber in 2018 started slowly. But once he realised that listening a little more carefully to the team's experienced engineers on setup matters might not be such a bad idea after all, his progress became unstoppable.

During the winter of 2018-19, before his first Ferrari season, former Sauber physiotherapist Josef Leberer told me over dinner in the Tyrolean mountains that he would not be surprised if Leclerc won his very first race as Sebastian Vettel's team-mate at Ferrari.

Jo turned out to be wrong on that prediction.

Charles Leclerc was promoted to Ferrari for the 2019 season

But only one year later, Leclerc had won two grands prix while four-time world champion Vettel had won just one. Alongside Max Verstappen, Leclerc had become Formula 1's next big thing.

By 2026, Leclerc has accumulated several lucrative Ferrari contracts and several million more in the bank. Yet with eight grand prix victories from 177 starts, a runners-up finish in the championship in 2022 and third place in 2024, his career still feels unfinished.

It is unlikely that Leclerc will be remembered as the next Gerhard Berger – a driver capable of annihilating the opposition on his best days but ultimately too inconsistent to sustain a genuine championship campaign. Yet so far, two obstacles have stood in his way: first, Ferrari has usually been competitive but never dominant; second, at least from the outside, Leclerc sometimes appears less composed under pressure than either the young Verstappen or the current championship sensation, Antonelli.

Raw talent is certainly not the issue.

A driver who can consistently outperform champions such as Vettel and Hamilton is unquestionably world champion material. But success in Formula 1 is an intricate puzzle. Leclerc assembled 90% of the pieces quickly and impressively. Now, he seems destined to spend years searching for the final pieces needed to complete the picture.

Monaco 2026 will trouble him for another reason. Normally, he is nearly unbeatable on home soil. Yet this weekend he struggled to match Hamilton's pace. Yes, Hamilton remains a seven-time world champion. But he is also a driver whom many have privately written off, even if few are willing to say so publicly out of respect for his lifetime achievement.

Is the 2026 season slipping away from Charles Leclerc?

At least for this season, Leclerc may need to accept that the championship is slipping away once again. For the eighth time since joining Ferrari.

He now sits fourth in the standings, 81 points behind Antonelli. Mathematically, such a deficit is recoverable, as Verstappen demonstrated in 2025. Practically, however, it is not a position that would inspire me to wager my savings on him.

Perhaps what he eventually needs is a change of scenery.

Alain Prost had to leave what felt like his natural home at Renault before winning his first world title with McLaren in 1985. Before that move, many viewed him as part of the Renault furniture. Much as Leclerc is now viewed as inseparable from Ferrari.

Who knows how he might perform in an environment such as Mercedes or McLaren, removed from his comfort zone?

For now, though, that discussion appears closed.

Charles Leclerc signed a contract extension with Ferrari last week

I am reminded of a quote Austrian broadcaster Heinz Pruller once attributed to Berger in 1989: "What good are a few extra million if I can't become world champion?"

Berger moved to McLaren in 1990. He no longer had to fight Ferrari's technical shortcomings. Instead, he found himself battling Ayrton Senna.

I do not believe Leclerc would crumble alongside Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri. As a complete package, he is probably stronger than Berger ever was. Yet doubts are slowly growing that he will one day add his name to Formula 1's list of World Champions.

Russell and Leclerc: Two exceptionally talented drivers who risk being overlooked during the passing of the torch between Formula 1's golden generations.

A little like tennis, where gifted players such as Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev first found their path blocked by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic - only for Sinner and Alcaraz to arrive and start collecting trophies almost at will.

There is, however, one encouraging detail.

Yesterday, Zverev won the French Open, the first Grand Slam title of his career. Zverev is now 29 years old. Viewed from that perspective, Russell and Leclerc - both 28 - still have one year left to fulfil their greatest dream.

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