Charles Leclerc has denied rumors that he has committed to Ferrari for a record-breaking length of time.
Leclerc is currently under contract with Ferrari that runs out at the end of 2024, but there is a lot of uncertainty about what will happen to his future after that.
Mercedes is rumored to be interested in contracting him as a potential long-term replacement when seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton decides to retire,
Red Bull is also considering him as a potential replacement for Sergio Perez in 2025. However, he is not as closely linked as, say, Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris have been with the reigning constructor champions.
Ferrari is therefore eager to re-sign the 25-year-old because they think he is one of the fastest drivers on the grid and the only one who will break their lengthy title drought.
According to reports from France, Leclerc has agreed to a new contract that could potentially make him the highest-paid driver in Formula One history. With the option of a contract extension, the new deal would see Leclerc at Maranello through 2026, and he would be paid more than £160 million over that time.
Leclerc has since provided an update on the contract situation and disclosed that, despite his intention to remain with Ferrari, no contract negotiations have even started yet.
“The rumours that put me in other teams just means that I’m doing my job well,” the Ferrari driver told Corriere dello Sport. “But I’m indifferent about them because I know what I want. I still don’t know what Ferrari wants from me.
“The discussions about the contract haven’t started yet, but everything is clear to me, I love Ferrari and I want to win here. That is my priority.
“Apart from the love for Ferrari that has always existed and continues to exist, I share many things with Fred [Vasseur, team principal], and many of them have to do with plans for the future.
“We are aligned. I know what is coming and I have faith.”
Leclerc has twenty fastest laps, 27 podium finishes, and five race wins since joining the Scuderia in 2019.
Three of those victories came last season, when he was the early favorite for the championship before a sequence of errors by the Monesgague and poor Ferrari strategy caused it to fall apart. He ultimately finished second to Max Verstappen with 146 points.
The Monegasque now sits in fifth place in the rankings with the 2023 season currently on summer break, far behind leader Verstappen by a staggering 215 points.
