Since mid-December, Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has revealed that the team's aim is to renew both of its drivers (whose contracts run until the end of 2024) before the start of the new season.
In the case of Charles Leclerc, this became a reality on Tuesday 24/1, when the team announced that the driver who has written off his entire racing life with them will continue to wear the red “for years to come”.
The report says the new contract is for five years, meaning he will drive for the Scuderia until 2029 – a year longer than Max Verstappen will drive for Red Bull. He also has a three-year option to leave, meaning he can – based on the team's performance – look for a new roof at the end of 2027, but that is still a long way off.
At statements he made in announcing the dealthe Monegasque set the tone for the future:
“My dream remains to win the World Championship with Ferrari and I am sure that in the coming years, we will enjoy great moments together and make our fans happy.”
Ferrari shows full faith in the person of Leclerc. She wants to build a championship organization based on the standards of her – de facto – piano.1 guide. It is this trust and investment, moral and material, that the driver must redeem. Leclerc lacks the aggression, the determination, the “chagan” in the battles. The only time he showed this side of his driving profile in the last two years was in Las Vegas, in his battle with Sergio Perez, and he was applauded by everyone for his move. He is a driver with a highly developed racing instinct, he is demonstrably fast and stable, but he needs to acquire that something extra that makes him seem (rather than be) inferior to his awe-inspiring rival, Verstappen.
At the same time, the team must now take the step forward, to provide him with the car to fulfill the – justified based on dynamics – goals he has set. And it is the team that must do it soon, the burden of responsibility falls on it. Leclerc, with the talent he has and at his age, has several productive years ahead of him and several options open for the future. At the Scuderia, they will have to take advantage of the confidence he showed in Maranello and make the most of it.
Their joint course is a 'work in progress', even though they have been together since 2019, given that Vasseur wants to build a new team, with big names in the technical staff, with a staff “exchange” (the departure of Laurent Mekies for RB was made on the condition that Red Bull personnel come to Maranello), and with the aim of meeting Leclerc's needs.
As for Carlos Sainz, things are becoming clearer, but certainly more difficult. The negotiations for his own contract are moving at a much slower pace, and this is under the responsibility of Ferrari, while now he will have to accept that Leclerc is the horse on which the team's managers have bet. He can accept it or look at his options – although before 2026, and Audi's entry into Formula 1, they are extremely limited.