David Croft Believes Charles Leclerc Feeling Indebted to Ferrari Will Never Allow Him to Achieve Prime Max Verstappen Quality

Charles Leclerc has often been touted as the next World Champion but has failed to live up to his potential. For the last four years, Ferrari has failed to provide the Monegasque with a car that can fight for the title. According to Sky F1 commentator David Croft, unlike Max Verstappen, Leclerc is unable to voice out his concerns assertively, and all of this is because of his feeling of indebtedness to Ferrari.

Leclerc has been a Ferrari man ever since the beginning of his career. He was taken under the wing of the Ferrari Driver Academy back in 2016 when he was racing in GP3 with ART. Since then, Ferrari has backed his career till he finally graduated to the main team in 2019.

This is why Leclerc is extremely loyal to the Maranello outfit. And while that is a good thing for Ferrari, Croft believes that it is quite harmful for Leclerc.

Charles Leclerc deserves much better according to Croft

David Croft recently appeared on the Sky Sports F1 podcast where he was speaking about how long Leclerc will be able to put up with Ferrari. Toni Cowan-Brown commented that she wants Leclerc to lash out at times like Verstappen and be straightforward with the team.

Croft explained that he cannot do that because of how indebted he felt toward the team. Croft said, “It’s difficult for him Toni isn’t it cause Ferrari have paid for his career so far. He’s been a Ferrari man and he wants to make it work with Ferrari.”

However, the British commentator did agree that despite all of this, Leclerc is too good a talent to be stuck in a team that cannot give him a car that can challenge for race wins, let alone titles. Croft also discussed that even considering a move to a team like Aston Martin in 2025 might be a better option for Leclerc.

Leclerc’s new 2+3 contract

As for Leclerc, jumping ships might not be an option anymore as there are rumors that he has reportedly penned down a five-year contract extension worth $198,500,000 with Ferrari. If this deal goes through, Leclerc will earn $16 million more per year than what he earns with his current contract.

This new deal is apparently set up in a 2+3 format. This means that Leclerc will have no exit clauses for the first two years with the team. However, since F1 will have a major regulation change in 2026, Leclerc will have exit clauses in his contract for the next three years.

However, as of now, Leclerc is completely devoted to the Prancing Horses. His only focus right now is getting Ferrari back to the top of F1.