Charles Leclerc reveals rival team interest before Ferrari contract commitment

Charles Leclerc has confirmed rival teams showed interest before he committed his future to Ferrari, though he refused to reveal who approached him.

Ferrari announced on Wednesday that Leclerc, who first joined the team in 2019, had signed a new long-term deal “for the coming” seasons.

Charles Leclerc confirms approaches before signing new Ferrari deal

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It put an end to speculation that Leclerc could trigger an exit clause after eight years without a sustained title challenge.

Last season his manager Nicholas Todt hinted that it could happen, telling The Straits Times: “Currently, we have a good car, but it’s not sufficient to win the title.

“We hope next year Ferrari will have a very good car under the new regulations.”

Leclerc, though, insisted at the time that as long as he “believes in the project”, he will “do absolutely everything” to win a world title with Ferrari.

Such is his belief, he signed a new long-term contract earlier this week despite interest from rival teams.

“There were, yes,” he told PlanetF1.com and other media in Monaco.

“I’m not going to say who. But they can say it if they want, but for me Ferrari was always the choice.”

Leclerc’s relationship with Ferrari began in 2016 when he joined the Ferrari Driver Academy prior to his season in GP3.

He won the GP3 title and a year later added the F2 championship to his tally before being promoted to Formula 1 with the Ferrari-powered Alfa Romeo team.

A year later, he stepped up to Ferrari, where he is now in his eighth season. The driver has twice finished in the top three of the Drivers’ Championship, second in 2022 and third in 2024.

Asked if his love for Ferrari could continue if he doesn’t win a title, Leclerc replied: “My love for the team is very big, but, of course, winning is important for every driver and it’s what we race for.

“But winning in red for me has got a very unique feeling and something that I’ve dedicated all the years so far in Formula 1 to try and achieve. We didn’t manage to achieve that yet, at least on a full season.

“I cannot go too much into the detail of contract, so I cannot comment unfortunately on the main question, but surely it’s part of those discussions.”

Pressed on whether he could end his career as a Ferrari driver, he conceded that’s a decision for the future.

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“I’m still very young,” said Leclerc. “I mean, I’m 28, so I have many years ahead of me.

“But as I’ve said, at the moment this is what feels right for me, and this is where I want to put all my focus, in trying to win with the team I love, that believed in me, that gave me the chance to be where I am today. And that’s what felt right for me.

“Then for the future we’ll see. Obviously, I don’t know what will life look like in five or six or seven or 10 years’ time, but it’s not the moment either to think about it.”

Leclerc has not won a Grand Prix since the 2024 United States Grand Prix, while so far this season he has two P3 results on the board. He sits third in the standings on 75 points, 56 points down on championship leader Kimi Antonelli.

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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