F1 | Why haven't negotiations for Charles Leclerc's Ferrari contract renewal started yet?

Charles Leclerc has denied market rumors that spoke of an alleged agreement already reached with Ferrari for a contract extension, explaining why negotiations for the renewal haven’t started yet. In the past weeks, rumors had linked the Monegasque driver to the Maranello team for another five years, with a hefty salary and an additional bonus of 50 million if he stays until 2029.

Charles Leclerc explains why negotiations for renewal with Ferrari haven’t started yet
Commenting on the rumors about a supposed five-year deal, totaling around 180 million, Charles Leclerc stated: “I wish I had reached such an agreement, because it sounds like a good deal!

“There are no new agreements and no discussions of any kind. But at some point, we will definitely have these discussions. I think my intentions are clear. As for the team, I don’t know, but I’m not too worried either.”

Among the priorities of the Monegasque driver, renewal isn’t one of them at the moment. The goal of this season, with the championship long gone, remains to catch up with Mercedes and Aston Martin and finish 2023 as the second force.

“Renewal is not a priority for now,” Charles Leclerc added. “For now, we just want to try to work as much as possible on the car to get back to where we were last year, which means fighting for wins. Then we’ll see. At the end of the season, for sure, we’ll talk about it. Honestly, I don’t even have any deadlines. I’m not in a hurry. I still have a year and a half, which in a way seems short because I have a five-year contract. So, now we’re approaching the end. There’s still plenty of time.”

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Number 16 is coming off a splendid third place achieved at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, a sign of the SF23’s improvement. Returning from the summer break, Scuderia Ferrari arrives at Zandvoort aware of the car’s limitations but also the qualities of its drivers.

“I’m not worried. If I were worried, I probably would have started talking about it earlier, but I’m not. Everything will be fine. We haven’t started the discussion yet, but I’m happy to do it at the end of the year.” – the Monegasque added.

Finally, Charles Leclerc revealed that the decision to focus on the renewal at the end of the season was made by mutual agreement: “Basically, we don’t talk about it, neither me nor them. So, we both decided this way, and I think it’s the right path. As I said, there’s no rush.”