Christian Horner says the Scuderia would be “crazy” not to sign Charles Leclerc to a five-year contract extension, despite suggestions that the Monegasque driver has agreed to one. Leclerc joined Ferrari in 2019 after a year with Alfa Romeo, but his tenure with the Scuderia has not produced the results that either the driver or the team hoped for. Despite winning two Grands Prix in his first season with the team, Ferrari went winless in 2020 and 2021, presumably due to an undisclosed penalty for an engine cheating scandal.

Leclerc returned to the top step of the podium last season, winning three races and finishing second in the Drivers’ Championship. However, Ferrari’s hopes of taking on Red Bull in 2023 were dashed when the Milton Keynes team went on a rampage. Despite five pole positions, Leclerc did not win a single race.
Former drivers and analysts urged the 26-year-old to explore greener pastures, with a mid-season switch with Lewis Hamilton being floated. However, Hamilton re-signed with Mercedes, and Leclerc is anticipated to stay a Ferrari driver until the end of the 2029 season. According to Gazzetta dello Sport, the five-time Grand Prix winner has agreed to a new five-year contract with a €25m beginning pay that will quadruple over the term.

This will bind Leclerc to the team until the end of the 2029 season, though it has been reported that performance-related exit clauses will kick in after the third year. While Ferrari dismissed the news as “speculation,” the Scuderia’s chairman, John Elkann, was quoted as saying at a board meeting that Leclerc and Carlos Sainz “will remain with us.” That, according to Horner, is the correct decision. It’s totally natural. Leclerc is a fantastic driver, and I’m sure they’ll want to keep him. They’d be crazy if they didn’t, Horner said.

I don’t really think to that because Ferrari is so special and I wouldn’t change my position with anyone else on the grid, he said in his earlier interview. Do I want to win the World Championships? Of course, this is the same for everybody, but do I want to change my place with anyone? No, I don’t. I have always been dreaming of being a Formula One driver, and even more so with Ferrari, he added. It’s been many years together and I want to finish the mission with a World Championship, Leclerc concluded.