Charles Leclerc signs new multi-year deal with Ferrari

Charles Leclerc has signed a new multi-year deal to remain driving for Ferrari, with the 28-year-old Monegasque extending his relationship with the team which began in 2019. He will continue to drive alongside Lewis Hamilton who also has a long-term contract with the team.

Ferrari announced their decision to continue with Leclerc on the eve of his home grand prix at Monaco this weekend. He has been a staunch Ferrari driver for almost all of his career and has competed in 155 races for the Scuderia, a tally second only to Michael Schumacher’s enormously successful tenure with Ferrari between 1996 and 2006.

“I couldn’t be happier to continue this journey with Ferrari,” Leclerc said. “It has always been so much more than just a team to me. It’s the team I’ve loved and dreamt of being part of since I was a child, and after all these years it has become a second family.”

Leclerc has eight wins with the team, a score lower than his undoubted talent deserves and he has also proved outstanding in qualifying taking 27 pole positions. His best championship finish was second in 2022, when Ferrari opened the season strongly but were eclipsed by what was to become the dominant Red Bull driven by Max Verstappen. Leclerc is currently third in this year’s standing, three points in front of Hamilton.

Ferrari’s decision to maintain their current lineup is a commitment to stability in the team and a demonstration of faith in Leclerc that they believe he can still deliver if they bring the competitive machinery. He won at his home race for the first time in 2024 and the Ferrari is expected to be very well suited to the streets of Monte Carlo this year, perhaps representing the team’s best chance of a win this season.

Leclerc joined the Ferrari academy on 2016, went on to win the F2 title in 2017 and made his F1 debut with Sauber in 2018 before being promoted.

“Charles has been part of the Ferrari family for many years now and this renewal feels like something very natural for us,” said Ferrari team principal, Fred Vasseur. “Over these seasons we have seen him grow, to become not only one of the strongest drivers in Formula 1, but also a person who is completely at one with the team and everything Ferrari represents. We appreciate his talent, we love his determination and the way he approaches every day with the people in the Scuderia, both on and off the track.”