Ferrari and its team principal Frederic Vasseur have thwarted all attempts from Mercedes to poach Charles Leclerc in Brackley. As the rumors surrounding the Monegasque’s switch to the rival strengthened off late, Vasseur snubbed it by calling it ”nonsense.”
As per a report published by Spanish media outlet Marca, the Frenchman stated that all the rumors of their star driver moving out of the team are “nonsense.” He also added that Leclerc loves Ferrari, as he accepted it on many occasions earlier.
P3 in Baku 🏆
It’s a team effort ❤️ #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/cYRwLRhrhk
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 30, 2023
The rumor lately found traction after the Prancing Horse failed to provide the Monegasque a title-challenging car in 2023, despite humongous failures in 2022. The rumor found more weight after Lewis Hamilton has been delaying his contract extension with the Silver Arrows.
However, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff also snubbed any claims to take the Monegasque in Brackley. Having said that Leclerc is a worthy driver, he mentioned that their prime focus is on the seven-time world champion only.
Leclerc denies any sort of Mercedes connection
As the Monegasque’s rumor of a switch to Mercedes gained traction, he finally decided to address the issue. As per Sky Sports, the Ferrari star said that there haven’t been any talks with Toto Wolff or Mercedes higher-ups.
In a report published by Boss Hunting, Leclerc stated that he’s fully focused on Ferrari and the team project up ahead. He also added that he trusts the team and is confident about his future at Maranello.
First pole of the season, it feels really good and the lap was 🔥
The feeling with the car was really good too, proud @ScuderiaFerrari ❤️ pic.twitter.com/edaZ7tmxV9— Charles Leclerc (@Charles_Leclerc) April 28, 2023
The 25-year-old joined the Italian team back in 2019. He replaced the outgoing Kimi Raikkonen and drove alongside Sebastian Vettel in the first two years in the team.
Vasseur wants to be a world champion with Leclerc
In the latest development, team boss Vasseur said that he wants to win the world championship with their star driver Leclerc. This has come during the fascinating Azerbaijan Grand Prix where the Prancing Horse made a great leap forward.
The Frenchman synced with the Monegasque to talk about the world championship after the former Sauber man revealed his intention to stay in the team and win the much-coveted title together.
Notably, Charles Leclerc recently retained his astonishing feat of Baku poles. The 25-year-old pulled off a stunning lap time to secure back-to-back three pole positions in Azerbaijan. He did it along with another pole in the first-ever Sprint Shootout last weekend.
