In the days ahead of Formula 1’s marquee event, Charles Leclerc and Ferrari broke some news.
That would be a new contract, expected to keep Leclerc with the team well beyond the 2028 F1 season.
Meeting the media ahead of this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, Leclerc shared more of the reasoning behind his decision to commit more of his future to Ferrari. But the main reason for his decision?
“Mostly Fred [Vasseur, Ferrari’s Team Principal],” said Leclerc when asked by David Croft of Sky Sports F1 why he believes in the team.
“I mean, I’m very on board with his vision and, yeah, I really believe in Fred,“ continued Leclerc during the FIA Press Conference. ”Obviously, it’s the first car that he projected together with the team. Obviously, we are seeing lots of innovation on our car and we have a long-term vision. I mean, not too long, because obviously we all want to win as quickly as possible, but, yeah, as soon as possible to be back on top. I’m on board with this vision and I believe in this vision, so, yeah, that’s what makes me believe about this project more than ever.“
Leclerc also outlined how his “love” for Ferrari made this an obvious decision.
“I mean, I love the team. I think that’s pretty obvious from the outside.
“It’s been eight years with the Formula 1 team, 10 years with Ferrari as a whole. They’ve been one of the first people to believe in me and to help me to get to where I am today, and I believe in the project most of all. I think with Fred we have a very good relationship, and I strongly believe that he is the person that will be able to bring Ferrari back to the top. It’s been a good start to the season, obviously not as good as what we would want, because we want to target the World Championship, but there’s been a lot of innovation on the car. I mean, we know where we are lacking and that’s probably more the engine side.
“We’ve got a plan coming up and hopefully it will help us to get back to where we want to be. But why? It’s because I love this team and because I believe in the project, and for these two reasons, yeah, that’s why we continue together.”
Asked during the FIA Press Conference if there were other options on the table for him, Leclerc admitted that there were, but that he was “not going to say who. But they can say it if they want, but for me Ferrari was always the choice.”
Leclerc finally broke through with a win in his home race, the Monaco Grand Prix, during the 2024 season. While Ferrari has been fighting behind Mercedes most of this season, many believe Leclerc or teammate Lewis Hamilton could break through with a win this weekend.
The driver pointed to Mercedes as the team to beat this weekend, but conceded that if there were one track to bet on Ferrari, it is Monaco.
No. I think we are in a better place. “I mean, if there’s one track I would bet on us, it’s probably Monaco,” stated Leclerc.
“However, I still believe that Mercedes have had a significant advantage since the beginning of the year, so I think they will be very strong. I think McLaren will be very strong as well. I think Red Bull will be very strong. But it’s true that on the other tracks so far, we’ve been struggling quite a bit on the straights, which should be less of a problem. We have a strong package chassis-wise and aero-wise, so I think it could help us. But Mercedes, I think, will still remain the team to beat.”
