(Motorsport-Total.com) – On Wednesday morning, Ferrari announced that they have agreed on a “multi-year” contract extension with long-time Scuderia driver Charles Leclerc. This will likely extend his time at Ferrari in Formula 1 for at least three more seasons beyond 2026.
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Since Leclerc’s previous contract was already valid until the end of 2027: Has the Monegasque taken a risk with this, or is his loyalty pledge to Maranello a step to be applauded? Our authors share their thoughts.
All the right moves!
Norman Fischer
Let’s be honest: There are worse things than driving for Ferrari and having your future secured long-term, right? Of course, jokes are often made about how Ferrari will mess up their development or strategy again, but basically, that’s criticism at a high level.
Ferrari has always been held to the highest standards because the Scuderia is still the team that represents Formula 1 and has created numerous heroic moments and successes.
Sure, the last title is quite a while ago — 18 years — but on the other hand, Ferrari has almost always been in the top fight over all those years and rarely had truly bad seasons.
To back this up with numbers: In this millennium, the Scuderia only finished outside the top 3 in the overall standings four times, and only once were they worse than fourth place.
The prospect of consistently competing at the front in Formula 1 is certainly something Charles Leclerc can appreciate. Of course, the world championship title is the goal above all else and cannot be guaranteed at Ferrari, but the chances are there, and Leclerc has the opportunity to become synonymous with THE Formula 1 team because by the end of 2028, he will have spent a full decade in Italy.
Together with the salary he will earn there, the decision is actually a no-brainer for me.
Charles Leclerc has only five wins from 27 poles
Moreover, switching to another team would not guarantee a world championship title either. Mercedes will at most field Max Verstappen alongside championship leader Kimi Antonelli and will not swap George Russell for Leclerc without good reason. And I cannot imagine him at Red Bull at all (especially since that would currently be a downgrade).
The only sportingly lucrative alternative — if you don’t want to make a Hail Mary like Gucci Alpine — would be McLaren. They are well staffed and satisfied with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, but maybe one of them would be tempted by a move to Ferrari. Then I could imagine a swap with Leclerc. But that’s too much speculation.
Therefore: All the right moves, Charles.
Did he even have a big choice?
Oleg Karpow
There simply aren’t many options for Leclerc, so the decision to stay at Ferrari seems absolutely logical. He sits in probably the second- or third-fastest car on the grid, and a realistic path to Mercedes or McLaren is hardly visible in the foreseeable future.
Moreover, Ferrari remains his dream team. If the Scuderia had magically botched the new regulations for 2026 just like Aston Martin and Honda, there would be much more reason to reconsider. At the moment, however, Ferrari is still a good horse to bet on. The winless drought has to end at some point. He just has to wait.
How long? That’s the question no one can answer. But it’s worth looking at how patient — or loyal, if you will — Lando Norris has been with McLaren. He joined the team during probably the worst phase in its history and experienced the transformation into the new benchmark in the field up close.
There were other possibilities; it’s no secret that Norris flirted with Red Bull more than once. But a team change always carries risks, especially when half the garage is already occupied by Max Verstappen.
If Mercedes had knocked, Leclerc would probably have forgotten his childhood dream of winning the title with Ferrari and focused on realizing at least part of it.
Any other move would have been a bit like switching lines at the supermarket checkout because the one next to you seems to be moving faster. Most of the time, you end up watching the line you just left reach the cashier first.
Ferrari success without Leclerc? A nightmare!
Filip Cleeren
Since Leclerc joined Ferrari in 2019, three teams have built a world championship-winning car: Mercedes, Red Bull, and McLaren. So no matter how you look at it: Leclerc placing his trust in Ferrari for another three or four years definitely carries risk.
It is absolutely possible that Leclerc will go down in history as another true Ferrari legend and as the driver with the longest tenure — but without the crowning title win at the end.
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But under Fred Vasseur, Ferrari has shown signs of life, innovation, and willingness to take risks. And given the way the team started the new regulations cycle, it is not unlikely that the Scuderia will be fighting for the title at some point in the coming years.
Even though I feel that teams like McLaren and Red Bull have a better track record when it comes to developing to the front during a season.
The only clear improvement would have been Mercedes, which seemed to have been ruled out anyway. It is not yet foreseeable whether there will be driver changes at McLaren or Red Bull beyond 2027 — but it could well happen.
Therefore, it is quite a statement of intent from Leclerc, who actually still had a contract until the end of 2027, to push all his chips into the middle before it was even his turn to decide on the pot.
Does such an early and long loyalty pledge to Ferrari carry risks? By the nature of this sport: yes. Just ask Fernando Alonso what it’s like to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
But even if it would be an unfinished career not to win with Ferrari, there is a horror scenario that would be far worse: that Ferrari wins the world championship and Leclerc has to watch in another team’s colors. That would be a mistake he would never forgive himself.
Leclerc’s love and loyalty to Ferrari are admirable
Benjamin Vinel
A long-term relationship between a team and a driver has something captivating, almost romantic. Especially when it comes to Leclerc, who was already called “Il Predestinato” — the Predestined or, more broadly, “the Chosen One” — by Sky Italia commentator Carlo Vanzini at a young age.
Everything about Leclerc has always revolved around Ferrari. He recalled watching the Monaco Grand Prix from the apartment of a friend at the Sainte-Devote corner as a three-year-old, only looking out for the red cars.
Meeting Michael Schumacher as a child only fueled his passion more. And the late Ferrari protege Jules Bianchi was something like a mentor to him.
Leclerc has now been with Ferrari for more than ten years, having been admitted to the team’s Driver Academy before the 2016 season. Their shared history has been marked by success — consecutive titles in GP3 and Formula 2, 27 pole positions, and eight Grand Prix wins in Formula 1 — but also by heartbreak and frustration.
Of course, there was the loss of Bianchi, but also numerous missed opportunities due to mechanical problems, strategy errors, and driver mistakes.
The results of the last 20 Ferrari debutants in Formula 1
Above all, Ferrari just never seems to manage to be an absolutely reliable title contender. The team is always somehow within striking distance and picks up one or another race win, but it never quite suffices. And while living his dream — in this case driving for the Scuderia — that dream gradually loses its magical shine.
Given his obvious talent and comprehensive skills, one would forgive Leclerc if he thought twice about his future in Maranello. You can bet he sometimes wonders what life would be like elsewhere. That’s only human.
But he simply will not act on it. Leclerc’s loyalty is to Ferrari, as the recent deal proves, which will likely bind him to the team until at least 2028.
Surely Ferrari will eventually figure it out and finally provide Leclerc with a car with which he can fight for the world championship. But regardless, he is already writing a remarkable chapter in Formula 1 history — as the man who has stuck with his beloved team for so long.
Something like this has never happened before in this form — and perhaps never will again.
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