Leclerc Extends Ferrari Deal Past 2028 Despite Rival Offers
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- Charles Leclerc confirmed he had received contract offers from rival F1 teams but said "Ferrari was always the choice" when announcing his new deal ahead of Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix
- Ferrari announced the extension on Wednesday, with the contract understood to tie Leclerc to the Scuderia at least through the end of the 2028 season
- Leclerc threw his weight behind team principal Frederic Vasseur's project, calling this the first car Vasseur has designed with the team and praising its "long-term vision" and innovation
- Leclerc has 8 Grand Prix wins across his 8 years on Ferrari's F1 roster — and is set to surpass Michael Schumacher's Ferrari appearance record next season — but his best championship finish remains a distant 2nd to Max Verstappen in 2022, against Schumacher's 72 wins and 5 titles
- Ferrari slumped to 4th in last year's Constructors' Championship with no race wins, and have yet to beat Mercedes in either qualifying or a Grand Prix through the first five rounds of the new 2026 rules era
- Leclerc sits 3rd in the 2026 Drivers' Championship, 3 points clear of new teammate Lewis Hamilton, with both drivers on two podiums apiece so far
Why it matters: Locking in a driver who openly admits he had options elsewhere buys Ferrari time to fix a car that has not beaten Mercedes in qualifying or a race through five 2026 rounds. The contract commits Ferrari to paying a top-tier salary to a driver whose 8 wins in 8 years still trail Schumacher's shadow, meaning Vasseur's touted 'long-term vision' now has a hard deadline — and a public one — attached to it.
