“2024 is a long time away”: Charles Leclerc may consider Ferrari for Mercedes exit if strategy blunders persist

Charles Leclerc has been in the Ferrari ranks for the entirety of his F1 career. He even won the 2017 F2 World Championship as a junior for the Scuderia, before joining Sauber in F1 the next year. After spending just a year with the Hinwil-based outfit, Leclerc was called up by Ferrari.

So far, Leclerc has won five races with Ferrari, who have failed to provide him with a car that can compete for the Championship. The start of the 2022 season gave some optimism and the Tifosi, but performance soon faded and they began showing cracks in reliability. However, the biggest talking point of their 2o22 season was undoubtedly their strategy.

2nd in the Driver and Team’s Championship. We did the best race possible and for that I’m happy.
Thank you for all the support during the year. We’ll work more than ever to do a further step in the right direction to fight for the championship next year ❤️ pic.twitter.com/JAgZHqElgy

— Charles Leclerc (@Charles_Leclerc) November 20, 2022

Over the course of the campaign, the Maranello squad made multiple blunders in the strategy department. This forced Leclerc to give up on a lot of points to Max Verstappen in the crucial early stages of the season. This raised questions over Leclerc’s loyalty to Ferrari, even though the 25-year-old has stated that being with the prancing horses is a dream for him.

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Charles Leclerc may leave Ferrari if they underdeliver consistently

Ferrari is the most successful and one of the most widely supported F1 teams of all time.  However, they have been underperforming for the last decade and a half. Their last Drivers’ Champion was Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 and they took home the team’s Title in 2008.

If Ferrari doesn’t live up to their game soon, their star driver Leclerc may consider leaving Maranello. After the disappointing end to 2022, rumors have linked the Monegasque driver to Mercedes and he refused to rule them completely.

Although Leclerc’s Ferrari contract does not expire until 2024, the Scuderia still wants to maximise his chances of signing an extension.

There is a risk that other teams could move in for Leclerc if Ferrari fails to deliver.

— F24 (@Formula24hrs) November 24, 2022

“2024 is a long time away,” he said according to GP blog. “And there is still time left at Ferrari. Being at this team has always been my dream. My objective at the moment is to win with Ferrari. Then we’ll see.”

Leclerc finished the 2022 F1 season in 2nd place, 146 points behind Verstappen. He only managed to hold onto the P2 position at the season finale in Abu Dhabi, with Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez breathing down his neck.

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