Despite being a world-class driver and having the talent to win a world championship, Charles Leclerc has failed to do it with Ferrari. Plus, it does not look like he can fetch it any time soon with Max Verstappen and Red Bull being more dominant than ever. In spite of this, Leclerc is ready to commit himself to the Italian outfit, signing a $198,500,000 contract with the team, and vowed to never leave the team as long as there lies the slightest possibility of him winning a world championship, as per Motorsport Italia and Tami.
Leclerc joined the Maranello-based team back in 2019 from Sauber and has been their star driver ever since. He saw his previous teammate Sebastian Vettel leave the team and is currently seeing present teammate Carlos Sainz linked with a move away from the team. However, nothing concrete about him leaving Ferrari ever came up.
Leclerc’s teammates leaving never deterred the star driver from leaving Maranello himself. Now, as per reports, Red Bull is interested in signing him. Leclerc, however, remains loyal to the team and is showing once more, why he is
Charles Leclerc wants to stay with Ferrari against all odds
Leclerc has recently opened up on his future and shared if he is willing to stay with the team despite having a underperforming car at his disposal. Talking about this, he said, “I think every driver considers all the different options, but in my case, the first dream is to become world champion with Ferrari.”
“I want that more than anything else, so if there is the slightest opportunity that can happen, I will have no doubts and I will push to stay where I am,” the 25-year-old added.
After failing to win the world championship last year, Leclerc has fallen further behind Verstappen in 2023. He stands in P5 in the driver’s standings with 99 points, which is 215 points adrift of championship leader Verstappen.
Leclerc reveals his next target and it is none other than Red Bull
During the interview with Motorsport Italy, Charles Leclerc emphasized his next goal this season and that is none other than challenging the top driver and the team.
Going by that Red Bull and Verstappen will be on Leclerc’s list as the Monegasque driver hopes to take on them with more upgrades set to come in.
However, Leclerc catching up seems unlikely given the massive difference between RB-19 and SF-23. The Red Bull challenger has monstrous straight-line speed and a superior DRS that makes it unmatchable for now. Therefore, it is very unlikely that Charles Leclerc, in his Ferrari, will be able to match Max Verstappen this year and contest for the world championship.
