The words of Charles Leclerc ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix, the penultimate round of the Formula 1 World Championship.
Leclerc already thinking about 2026
After battling McLaren for the 2024 Constructors’ Championship all the way to Abu Dhabi, nobody at Ferrari expected to be sitting in fourth place with only two race weekends remaining in the 2025 season — and with very slim chances of securing a podium. Certainly Charles Leclerc did not expect this scenario. Now, the only option is to accept a difficult championship and close it with dignity between Qatar and Abu Dhabi. The Monegasque driver introduced the Lusail weekend this way, already looking ahead to 2026.
Leclerc’s words
“Inside the team we are really united and highly motivated to achieve something special. Of course, I have been saying for a long time that we are trying to do something special and we still have not managed it, but the most important thing is that I see the team truly compact and not too influenced by what happens around the team,” said Leclerc, referring also to the controversy that emerged in recent weeks.
When directly asked about the rumours of leaving Ferrari, Charles Leclerc replied: “As I’ve said, I’ve always loved Ferrari. And this is where I want to dedicate my time and my effort in order to bring them back to winning. I want to be world champion with this team. The rumours don’t bother me as long as it doesn’t affect the team. And that’s not the case, so I’m not worried and I’ll continue moving forward down this path with the team.”
“It has been a particularly demanding season because in the second part of last year we had the right momentum: I think I was the driver who scored the most points in the second half of the year, so we arrived at the beginning of 2025 with high hopes, and then the season did not go the way we wanted. This year went like that and it does not demotivate me: it has definitely been hard, but I am still trying to achieve something special before the end of the year, starting from this weekend.” – the Moneaasue driver pointed out ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix weekend.
“I am really motivated for next year, because there has been a lot of work behind the scenes; we know we stopped development in view of 2026 to try to stay one step ahead of the others, and I hope that is the case. Everyone is working very hard to prepare 2026 in the best possible way, and we cannot wait, also because 2025 was not great and did not see us fighting to achieve our goals. The next championship will be an opportunity to return to the top. I have no expectations because we cannot know our position compared to the others, the best thing I can do now is stay focused on the present and try to do the best possible job in the simulator,” the Monegasque concluded.
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