Charles Leclerc reveals he had ‘other opportunities’ before new Ferrari deal

Charles Leclerc has revealed “other opportunities” were presented to him before he signed a new deal with Ferrari.

Leclerc is on track to become the Scuderia’s all-time highest race starter next season, and it was announced in early June that the Monégasque driver would continue in red until what is understood to be at least the 2030 campaign.

Charles Leclerc: ‘There were other opportunities’ before new Ferrari deal signed

Leclerc signed what was Ferrari’s longest-ever driver contract when he penned a five-year deal after his impressive performances in the 2019 season, going on to earn nine race victories and 54 podiums to date with the Scuderia, as well as 27 pole positions.

While his previous contract was not believed to have needed renewing in the immediate future, an extension to his time as a Ferrari driver was agreed to bring medium-term security to his seat.

While he did not go into specific details of what happened beforehand, the 28-year-old did confirm, though, that his manager, Nicolas Todt, had kept him up to date with goings-on and, while he never reached the stage of holding personal talks elsewhere, Leclerc did have other options available.

Asked about if negotiations took place elsewhere on the Beyond the Grid podcast, Leclerc replied: “For that, I think I’m lucky to be in the position where I’ve got my manager, and my manager is here to let me know about what are the other opportunities, what’s going on around, and so I didn’t have any personal talks, but my manager did.

“It’s his job to be honest with me and to give me the full picture of what’s going on in the paddock and what opportunities we might have.

“So yes, there were other opportunities, but at the end of the day, we sat down with Ferrari and we made it happen quite quickly.”

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Leclerc attributed team principal Fred Vasseur as being one of the main reasons behind his continued faith in the Scuderia, with his team boss having worked with him in the same position in his debut Formula 1 season at Sauber.

“Fred is a big reason why I have signed again as well,” Leclerc added.

“I believe in Fred 200 per cent. We’ve known each other for many years now and to be able to work with him in the team I’ve always loved is a privilege. So, for me, I had no doubt that this was the right decision for me.

“It feels like I know Fred since forever. He’s the kind of person that you speak once and, I don’t know, I think it’s the values. There’s just something that was naturally working from the beginning and you cannot quite explain that.

“But, from the very first talks, it felt like I’ve known him forever. So, obviously, the bond is stronger than just a work, business relationship.”

Leclerc currently sits fifth in the 2026 Drivers’ standings, 87 points behind championship leader, Kimi Antonelli.

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