Charles Leclerc like Jean Alesi: why Ferrari contract renewal would be an act of faith

The Formula 1 summer break is the time when assessments are made on the first part of the season. While the assignment of the world titles (drivers and constructors) is only a matter of time, the contractual position of several drivers whose contracts expire at the end of the next racing season is the center of attention.

Among these drivers, the name of Charles Leclerc stands out, a talent around whom the management of Scuderia Ferrari is trying to build a team worthy of its champion. It is needless to deny that the departure of Mattia Binotto and the arrival of Frederic Vasseur have been a welcome change for the Monegasque driver, due to the happy experiences shared with the French executive in the junior categories.

The disastrous start of the 2023 Formula One season can be considered a disastrous legacy of the previous management. However, the Team Principal of Scuderia Ferrari is working on two milestones that are quite distant in the near future. In the short term, he had to address the exodus of managers in strategic roles in the organizational structure of the team, such as David Sanchez, who joined McLaren, and Laurent Mekies, the future Team Principal of Alpha Tauri or Hugo Boss according to recent rumors.

In the long term, Fred Vasseur’s recruitment efforts are aimed at hiring top technicians from the competition, who are expected to bring expertise in areas where there is an evident gap with rivals and, above all, knowledge transfer that allows for rapid progress. Essentially, what allowed Dan Fallows to transform Aston Martin from the seventh force to a Red Bull chaser in the first part of the season within a few months.

For the manager from France, the matter of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz’s contract renewal is the least of his concerns, but for the drivers, the level of competitiveness of the team will be one of the determining factors in the negotiation. In light of the impressive performances displayed by the Monegasque driver in his debut season with Ferrari (2019, nda), his contract was extended for five more years, with an expiration set at the end of the 2024 season. At the time, Charles accepted the extension without any reservations, but the current situation is entirely different. Over these years, the young man from Monaco has become the “beacon” of the team and the undisputed idol of the Ferrari fans. However, time flies, and his hunger for victory has increased in proportion to the frustration of not being able to compete at the levels he deserves.

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F1. A Career So Far Very Similar to Jean Alesi’s
Stats enthusiasts or younger fans might raise an eyebrow, but Charles Leclerc’s career evolution is taking on characteristics very similar to those of a fan-favorite idol from the 1990s: Jean Alesi. The Avignon-born driver, with Italian origins, was a crystal-clear talent capable of fearlessly battling Ayrton Senna on board the Tyrrell in memorable duels at Phoenix and Monaco during his first full season in Formula 1. At the time, Jean Alesi was the “chosen one” on whom Frank Williams pounced, signing a pre-contract for the 1991 season. Later, he attracted the attention of Ferrari, and Jean, in pursuit of his dream, chose to yield to the temptations of the Maranello team, with the graceful consent of Frank Williams.

During his five years at Maranello, Jean thrilled the crowds with his bravery and determination to push the limits of some of the worst single-seaters ever produced by Ferrari in its history. A phenomenon in wet conditions to the point that people would do a rain dance on Sundays so that the Frenchman could shine and close the gap with the seemingly unbeatable Williams, McLaren, and Benetton. At the end of the 1995 F1 season, the paths of the Italian-French driver and the Prancing Horse parted ways in a stormy manner, as often happens in couples who have loved each other so much.

For Charles Leclerc, 2024 is a kind of sliding doors moment: accepting the promises of a winning future with Ferrari on trust, or indulging his mad desire to win “as soon as possible” elsewhere? A long-term contract renewal with the red team would be an act of faith because, from a rational point of view, in a period of regulatory continuity, the Prancing Horse will hardly be able to provide a car capable of fighting for the title until at least the end of the 2025 season. The debut of next-generation power units and significantly modified aerodynamics in 2026 could open up new scenarios, but such speculation falls into the realm of “what ifs.”

The young age of the Monegasque talent might prompt him to be patient and fulfill his dream wearing the Red uniform. However, on the stage of the top category of motorsport, there is a generation of fierce drivers of the same age or even younger (like the McLaren duo) who could close off any alternative solutions to the Ferrari seat.

Will the Monegasque have the strength to postpone his craving for victory and suppress his evident frustration for more years? His current value in the driver hierarchy of the grid could be diminished by the concurrent rise of young talents from other teams. Usually, the Monza weekend is the time for announcements from the historic Italian team regarding contract renewals. The possible silence of the Prancing Horse could be a kind of gray smoke concerning the continuation of the Charles Leclerc/ Scuderia Ferrari partnership.