Charles Leclerc is reportedly all set to sign a new five-year contract with Ferrari that will keep him at the Prancing Horses until the end of the 2029 season. As per the reports, he will receive a whopping $198,500,000 in salary over this duration. Despite reports of the contract extension, F1 expert David Croft believes that the Monegasque may leave Ferrari at the end of the 2024 season. The British expert believes that Aston Martin could tempt the 25-year-old to join them in 2025 with the new regulations coming up only a year after.
The Silverstone-based outfit seems to have a promising project as they will tie up with Honda for the 2026 season and form a partnership of a works team. Moreover, Aston Martin F1 owner Lawrence Stroll also seems to be extremely ambitious to get his side to the top as soon as possible.
Good to be back on the podium !
Good race today, we maximized everything. Now time to recharge the batteries for a few weeks 🙂 pic.twitter.com/GN0lArKEh5— Charles Leclerc (@Charles_Leclerc) July 30, 2023
With Leclerc having made it clear that he is keen to fight for the world championship, he may lose patience with Ferrari if they continue to fail in producing a race-winning car. These are some of the reasons why Croft believes that Leclerc may join Aston Martin.
David Croft explains why Aston Martin’s project could tempt Charles Leclerc to join
F1 expert, David Croft gave his opinion on the situation surrounding Charles Leclerc while appearing on the most recent episode of the Sky Sports F1 podcast. He began by raising concerns about how long the Monegasque is willing to be patient with Ferrari.
“I wonder how long he (Leclerc) will be patient with Ferrari. Whether he might find that there is somewhere else he can go. Maybe there is a gap at Aston Martin in 2025 which would be a really really attractive proposition, given what would be happening with Honda for the following year,” explained Croft.
On similar lines, Toni added that Leclerc needs to express his impatience and frustrations with Ferrari by speaking up. However, Croft believes that the same is difficult for Leclerc as he has been a “Ferrari man” and is keen on wanting to make the partnership work with the Italian outfit.
Since Leclerc is undoubtedly a driver who is a prospective world champion, all eyes are on him as to what will he decide for his future. In case if the Monegasque sees Aston Martin having a promising project, then the question is about who could he replace at the team.
Who can Leclerc replace at Aston Martin?
Double world champion Fernando Alonso currently has a contract until the end of the 2024 season with Aston Martin. However, with him having claimed that he is keen on racing for another few years, it is likely that he will extend his current deal. On the other hand, Lance Stroll is racing for a team that is owned by his father, Lawrence Stroll.
Hence, it seems unlikely that the team will sack the 24-year-old despite his underwhelming performances this season. However, although Lance’s position seems safeguarded at Aston Martin, David Croft in another shocking interview claimed that the Canadian himself may not want to race beyond the 2025 season.
The 53-year-old believes that Lance does not enjoy F1 and would rather play tennis, having excelled in the sport during his younger days. Therefore, there is a possibility that Charles Leclerc may replace Lance at Aston Martin if the Canadian decides to not race in F1 anymore.
