0
Charles Leclerc is not going anywhere. Despite the ongoing speculation about driver movements across the top teams, the Ferrari driver was unambiguous this week about where his future lies and why.
A Bond That Has Not Weakened
Leclerc has been at Ferrari since 2019 and has grown into the defining face of the Scuderia across that period. The early races of 2026 have reinforced his quality: multiple podiums, a second place in the Shanghai Sprint, and a consistent ability to extract the maximum from a car that is fast through the corners but still losing ground to Mercedes on the straights.
Hamilton Retirement Rumours Knocked Down: He Is Staying at Ferrari
Piastri Names Hamilton the Greatest of All Time but Says Verstappen Is Getting Close
He was direct when the topic of his future came up. "Ferrari still feels like family to me. It is the team I dreamed of as a child and that feeling has never gone away." For a driver with options, that kind of statement tends to be the end of a conversation rather than the opening of one.
The Title Is Still the Goal
Leclerc acknowledged that Ferrari have not yet closed the gap to Mercedes, but framed it as a matter of time rather than a structural problem. "The passion to win is still there. We have been working incredibly hard for years to get back to the top. We have taken steps, but we are not yet where we want to be. That means we have to keep pushing."
The numbers make the gap clear. Ferrari's last drivers title came in 2007 when Kimi Raikkonen won the championship. Leclerc came closest to changing that in 2022, finishing second after leading the standings for much of the season. In 2026 the same pattern is forming: competitive enough to be consistently on the podium, not yet fast enough to consistently win.
His closing thought was honest about the personal dimension of the wait. "I hope our moment comes soon. It has been a while since I started and the years go by. I give everything I have and I hope that this season, or as soon as possible, we can finally take that step."
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
I. Hadjar
A. Antonelli
C. Leclerc
982 members have this team as their favourite
Replies (0)
Login to reply