Leclerc does not want to leave Ferrari before winning a World Championship title

The 26-year-old driver has been with the Scuderia for five seasons. One of his goals, as well as his team’s, is to become World Champion. However, the hoped-for success has still not happened. Ferrari has not been able to offer a car capable of contending for a World Championship title, despite the Monégasque driver’s second place in 2022.

Time is passing, and Leclerc’s contract is close to expiring. The discussions seem to be dragging on, while the former Alfa Romeo driver only has a deal until the end of the following season.

The crazy rumors debunked

The transfers in F1 are the subject of many speculations. Regarding Charles Leclerc, rumors mentioned contractual situations with Alpine and Mercedes. However, the Scuderia driver has been clear: he wants to stay and become World Champion with the Reds.

« I don’t really think about it because Ferrari is so special and I wouldn’t trade my position with anyone else on the grid », said the one who is 7th in the 2023 championship. « Do I want to win world championships? Of course, it’s the same for everyone, but do I want to switch places with someone? No, I don’t. I’ve always dreamed of becoming a Formula 1 driver, and even more so at Ferrari. It’s a bit of a family feeling. I’ve been part of the team for so many years, whether as a true Ferrari race driver or at the Ferrari Driver Academy in previous years. »

The disillusion of the beginning of the season

Before the start of the 2023 championship, Ferrari had the objective to fight for the title. With a second place in the constructor’s championship and the driver’s championship, the Italian team aimed to challenge Red Bull. However, the pre-season tests and the early track outings revised the engineers’ plans. After several improvements made throughout the season, the team finally managed to climb up a bit.

“There has been quite a lot of progress, especially in the second half of the season,” explained Charles Leclerc. “Upon returning from the summer break, we really made great progress in understanding our car, and it is a positive step for the future. It is positive, but on the other hand, it is true that the season has been disappointing. Last year, we finished second in the championship for both titles, and this year our goal was to win the championship. I think we have seen two teams this year, Aston Martin early on, and McLaren more recently, make great strides forward. This gives us the confidence that these big steps can be achieved, but we need to understand exactly where the problems are coming from.”

Leclerc confident for 2024

Ferrari understood what was wrong this season. In terms of development, both cars have made good progress. Currently, the Italian team is 3rd in the constructors’ championship, in Frederic Vasseur’s debut season as team principal. It has been a rather honorable transitional year for the team. « I am personally very confident about the direction we are taking in terms of development and I’m sure it will pay off starting next year,” proclaimed Charles Leclerc to ESPN.

For the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the conditions are expected to be very peculiar. Ferrari and the other teams could be advancing through fog until race Sunday.