Charles Leclerc, Who Joined Ferrari Because of Jules Bianchi, Now is Open to Seek Other Opportunities

In 2018, Charles Leclerc was announced as the new Ferrari driver for the following season. When he was first interviewed after his move was announced, the Monegasque honored his move to Maranello in Jules Bianchi.

The Frenchman was a godfather figure to Leclerc and mentored him. Bianchi only instilled the Ferrari fever in him, and since then, Leclerc has been anything but a Tifosi.

 

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In his first few races, Leclerc made an immediate impact at Ferrari. His incredible form only snowballed when he won at Spa and Monza back to back. With him exceeding expectations, Ferrari gave him a fresh contract that would run till 2024.

A five-year-long contract by Ferrari surprised everyone, as never before had the Italian team spoiled any driver with guaranteed riches for so long. Even Michael Schumacher never penned a contract that long with the most successful Formula 1 team of all time. So, it was apparent that Ferrari saw a future legend in their team.

Meanwhile, Leclerc was perceived as someone who would want to stick with Ferrari for a long time. But now, with 2024 fastly approaching, Leclerc hints at contemplating other options.

Also read: Lando Norris Snubs ‘Incorrect’ Representation of His Relationship With Daniel Ricciardo

Charles Leclerc hints at looking for opportunities elsewhere

Leclerc was asked about his current contract getting started with his penultimate year and has started any talks with Ferrari about extending it. The Monegasque claims it’s too early right now, but he’ll see what the future holds for him.

“No, there are no talks ongoing for now, at least,” he told Sky Sports F1. “I love the color red. I love Ferrari. I’m very happy here. But we’ll see what the future holds. Obviously, it’s very early to speak about this. My contract ends in ’24. But I’ll know once there are some talks starting.”

Leclerc, in 2022 was ready to fight for the title. However, some unforced errors by Ferrari made him slip into the championship and propelled him to wish for better luck this year. But a team with better prospects in the championship can lure him with his contract slowly dying down.

Impressed by the new boss

After seeing Ferrari spiralling down, the team management hired Fred Vasseur to replace Mattia Binotto to lead the team. While it has only been weeks since he joined the team, Leclerc is impressed by how quickly the Frenchman has settled.

He claims it’s the opposite of his own experience, not because Leclerc is shy to reach others but thinks that the team is too big and that getting to know everyone so soon is hard.

What a day for it 😍

Heading out for our 2023 filming day 🎬 pic.twitter.com/9aH4owLD0h

— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) February 15, 2023

Leclerc has earlier worked with Vassur when the former was in Sauber. With this arrangement, he is excited to appear in the first race of the season that will happen in Bahrain.

Also read: Max Verstappen Refuses to Follow in Christian Horner’s Footsteps

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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