When Charles Leclerc moved to Ferrari in 2019 he was tipped to be the ‘Golden Boy’ for the Scuderia and win the team their first title since 2008.
Heading into the 2023 season, Leclerc and Ferrari are yet to win a championship, with the team not being competitive enough to challenge Red Bull or Mercedes until last season.
The Monegasque’s best opportunity to win a championship so far was last season but reliability issues and strategic errors saw his shot at the title slip away.
Horrific decision making in Monaco, Spa, Britain and Hungary saw the 25-year-old lose a significant amount of points in his battle with Max Verstappen and according to reports, Leclerc was not even on speaking terms with team principal Mattia Binotto by the end of the season.
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Things are expected to improve drastically at Ferrari now Fred Vasseur has replaced Binotto, with the Frenchman having managed Leclerc previously at Sauber in the 25-year-old’s rookie season in F1.
Despite this appointment, the current rumours suggested that Leclerc is not entirely sold on extending his contract with Ferrari, which is set to expire at the end of the 2024 season.
Vasseur was asked about Leclerc’s contract situation in a recent press conference and has surprisingly revealed that talks with the Monegasque driver are currently on hold.
“I don’t want to put this topic on the table today,” he said.
“We have to be focused on the sporting side to get results.
“But it’s like a wedding – if both sides of the table are happy with the situation then we will continue. But it’s not the priority. We have a good relationship, and we will have time to discuss about this.
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“The only topic today is we have to be focused on pure performance and get results.”
With Ferrari faltering under the new regulations, it would be a smart idea for Leclerc to wait and see how his team fare in this upcoming decision before deciding on his long-term future.
The Ferrari driver clearly has the quality to win races and potentially championships, meaning he simply needs a fast and reliable car and a team that do not make so many mistakes in order to be successful.