The Ferrari star signed his new deal this week ahead of his home race at the Monaco Grand Prix, closing the door on speculation over his future while revealing that rival teams did attempt to lure him away.
“There were, yes,” Leclerc said when asked if other offers were on the table.
“I’m not going to say [who]. They can say it if they want, but for me Ferrari was always the choice.”
Having joined the Ferrari Driver Academy as a teenager and graduating to a race seat in 2019, Leclerc said his belief in the team’s direction under team principal Fred Vasseur was central to his decision to stay.
“I love the team. I think that’s pretty obvious from the outside,” he said.
“It’s been eight years with the Formula 1 team, 10 years with Ferrari as a whole.
“They have been one of the first people to believe in me and to help me get to where I am today.
“And I believe in the project as a whole.
“With Fred (Vasseur, team principal) we have a very good relationship and I strongly believe he’s the person that will be able to bring Ferrari back to the top.”
While the exact length of the new agreement has not been officially disclosed, it is understood to secure Leclerc into the latter part of the decade, reinforcing Ferrari’s intent to build around its long-serving driver as it targets a return to championship-winning form.
Attention now shifts to the Monaco Grand Prix, where Leclerc returns to the streets of Monte Carlo chasing a strong result in front of his home fans – even if he remains cautious about Ferrari’s prospects against the early-season benchmark.
“No,” he said when asked if he agreed Ferrari were favourites for victory.
“I think we are in a better place. If there’s one track I will bet on us, it’s probably Monaco.
“However, I still believe that Mercedes have had a significant advantage since the beginning of the year.
“So I think they will be very, very strong.”
Discussion about this post