Charles Leclerc has addressed claims that he could leave Ferrari for F1 rivals Mercedes F1 if Scuderia Ferrari cannot continue to provide him with the equipment to win championships. Charles Leclerc has cemented his status as Scuderia Ferrari’s long-term number one driver with the signing of a five-year deal for 2020 and the release of Sebastian Vettel from the status and team.
In 2022 Charles Leclerc spearheaded Ferrari’s first attack, but various strategic, reliability and operational errors derailed his challenge. With Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris also out of contract in the next few years, Charles Leclerc is being looked at as a possible replacement for Hamilton at Mercedes F1 as the driver market opens up over the next few seasons. “You seem to be worried that I’m going to Mercedes, but in fact there is no negotiation at all,” Leclerc told Italian newspaper QN. “I feel good here at Ferrari and the people’s I’m feeling the enthusiasm, the idea of winning with Ferrari excites me.” At the launch of the Ferrari SF-23 at Fiorano, Charles Leclerc was asked about his long-term future, talks of a contract renewal still beginning. I admitted that I didn’t. “I think it’s always important to be competitive,” said Leclerc. “When it comes to renewing my contract at Ferrari, it’s not something I’m thinking about already, we still have a long way to go, two years,” he said. I think we’ll know for sure when negotiations begin, but it’s not yet.” During the offseason, Scuderia Ferrari worked alongside F1 team principal Mattia Binotto and Charles Leclerc during his rookie season at Sauber in 2018. He was replaced by Frédéric Vasseur. Asked about his first impressions of Frédéric Vasseur, Charles Leclerc said he was impressed by how quickly the French “understood” Ferrari. “I’m very impressed with how well he’s integrated into the team. Ferrari is very different from what we’re used to, it’s huge.” “In the first few days I got a very good understanding of how Ferrari works and I am very clear about what I want.” “It’s very important and that’s what he brings to Ferrari and I’m sure it’s going to be good.”