Charles Leclerc has admitted that rival teams made approaches before he chose to extend his long-term partnership with Ferrari, though he remains deliberately vague about who those teams were.
Speaking on Formula 1’s Beyond the Grid podcast, Leclerc explained that his manager Nicolas Todt handled all external discussions on his behalf while keeping him fully informed of the paddock landscape.
“My manager is here to let me know about what are the other opportunities, what’s going on around,” Leclerc said, confirming that personal talks with rival teams never took place directly.
“I mean, it’s his job to be honest with me and to give me the full picture of what’s going on in the paddock and what opportunities we might have,” he added.
“So, yes, there were other opportunities. But at the end of the day, we sat down with Ferrari and we made it happen quite quickly.”
Nicolas Todt is far more than simply Leclerc’s representative, being the son of former Ferrari supremo Jean Todt, who guided Michael Schumacher to multiple world championships with the Scuderia.
Todt Jr also co-founded the ART GP organisation alongside current Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur over two decades ago, giving him unusually deep roots within the Ferrari structure.
It is understood that Todt was instrumental in the removal of former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto, with Vasseur subsequently installed as his replacement in January 2023.
Leclerc’s prime options outside Ferrari in recent seasons have centred on Mercedes, Red Bull, and McLaren, though each of those teams ultimately retained their existing driver line-ups when opportunities were explored.
Aston Martin also reportedly made an approach at the end of last season, though the organisation’s ongoing internal turbulence made it an unlikely destination compared to Ferrari’s relative stability.
Mercedes was an early target for Todt, who approached the team about Leclerc filling the vacancy created by Lewis Hamilton’s departure, but Mercedes ultimately remained content with its existing drivers.
McLaren, where Todt is understood to have held discussions with figures including Andrea Stella and Zak Brown, was similarly unavailable after finishing last season with two drivers competing for the world championship.
Ferrari had originally signed Leclerc to a long-term deal in January 2024, reportedly running until the end of 2029 with options, but that agreement was understood to include a break point in 2026 covering the new technical regulations era.
Ferrari’s competitive showing under the new regulations removed much of Leclerc’s motivation to exercise that break clause, with the team demonstrating genuine pace and a meaningful upgrade programme.
Leclerc was equally clear about the personal motivations driving his decision, singling out Vasseur as a central reason for his continued commitment to the Italian outfit.
“Fred is a big reason on why I have signed again as well. I believe in Fred 200%,” Leclerc said, expressing confidence in both the team principal and the broader project at Maranello.
“I don’t want to give up on my ultimate goal, which is to become a world champion with Ferrari,” he added, reaffirming that his ambitions remain firmly anchored to the Scuderia.
With Leclerc set to be over 30 years old when his current deal next comes up for renewal, the question of how many future opportunities will present themselves is one the paddock will be watching closely.