Charles Leclerc announced the renewal of his Ferrari contract with a lavish video on social media professing his love for the team.
Leclerc, now 28, has been racing for Ferrari in F1 since 2019, been on their driver academy since 2016, and their protege since he was 14.
He referenced how joining them had been like “living a dream”. He said Ferrari were “family”, adding: “Maybe that is exactly what makes this moment so special. For me, it’s always been clear. The dream is still alive, and I’m proud to continue chasing it together.”
That dream is to win the world championship together. And it remains as elusive as ever.
Since joining Ferrari in 2019, Leclerc has both established himself as one of the absolute elite F1 drivers, and won only eight grands prix.
That’s a pretty poor reward for a driver many regard as perhaps the fastest of all over one lap, in the sport’s historically most successful team.
It is a reflection not on Leclerc himself, but of Ferrari’s perennial underachievement in the past two decades. This season’s new regulations marked another moment of hope and promise, which is as yet unfulfilled.
Leclerc’s contract did not run out this year, sources at Ferrari say, and this is a contract extension – not a simple exercising of an option clause.
That likely means he was under contract until the end of next year – as is believed to be the case with team-mate Lewis Hamilton. Although there are sources saying Leclerc had a potential way out at the end of this year, depending on Ferrari’s performance levels. Either way, clearly the team were keen to lock him down.
As they should, when the driver market could become turbulent this year, with Max Verstappen’s future in the sport uncertain. Leclerc is a desirable commodity for other teams, to say the least.
As for Leclerc himself, in truth he did not have that many options, even had he wanted them.
Mercedes drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell are said to be locked in for next year at least, given the team’s level of competitiveness in 2026.
And if any driver will go there instead of one of them, it will be Verstappen, who team boss Toto Wolff has coveted for years.
McLaren are also committed to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri for the foreseeable future.
In that context, committing to Ferrari for a few more seasons – likely to 2029, according to the word on the street – seems like a sensible option for Leclerc, even if there must be times when his faith in his dream is tested.