Ferrari begins contract negotiations with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz

It is being reported that Ferrari has begun contract negotiations with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to sign a new deal with the Italian team.

The duo have their current deal expiring with the team at the end of the 2024 season and have hinted that they want to extend their time with Ferrari until 2026. As reported by Formu1a.uno, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur had signaled that he would hold contract talks with both drivers during the winter break and might be involved personally in the contract negotiations.

The Italian team finished the 2023 season in P3 in the constructors' championship, falling just short of rival Mercedes in the battle for P2 by three points. They were the only team to deny Red Bull having an 'invincible' season in the sport after Carlos Sainz took his second win in F1 in Singapore.

Charles Leclerc gives his take on losing the P2 battle to Mercedes

While analyzing the Abu Dhabi GP, Charles Leclerc stated that P2 in the constructors' championship for Ferrari was "all that mattered to him" in the race on Sunday, November 26.

The Monegasque told F1.com:

"I’m really happy because on a weekend like this, there was not one thing we could have done better. As a team, it was definitely not a given that we were in the second-fastest car this weekend, but we did an incredible job doing everything right, the strategy, qualifying…"

“It’s just a shame that we finished third in the constructors’. That’s all that mattered to me at the end of the season but we didn’t achieve that. Anyway, I would like to thank the team for doing such incredible work and for working so incredibly hard since the first race."

Charles Leclerc added:

“We knew it was going to be an uphill season because we lacked performance compared to where we wanted but the team has done an incredible job pushing until the last race.

With his contract expiring at the end of the 2024 season, Charles Leclerc had previously stated that he would only want to continue for Ferrari as he desired to win championships with the team. However, he will hope to have a more competitive car next season to consistently challenge for race wins and podiums.