Should Charles Leclerc sign the rumored F1 contract extension with Ferrari until 2029?

Charles Leclerc is reportedly close to signing a 5-year extension with Ferrari which will keep him safe with the team till the 2029 F1 season.

Gazzetta reported that Leclerc will soon sign a new contract extension with Ferrari with a hefty pay raise. The question, however, is not if he will be extending his stint with the team, but should he do it?

The 2024 season will mark Leclerc’s sixth consecutive season with the Italian outfit. The most he has achieved so far are 22 pole positions, five race wins, and a second place in the drivers’ championship (2022).

While this might not be bad for a driver in the sport since winning itself is difficult to achieve in F1, the fact that he has achieved only this, given his ability, is rather underwhelming.

Charles Leclerc has proven to be an amazing driver in the junior racing series. Even in F1 with Ferrari, he has proved his pace in qualifying laps and battles on the track.

The 2022 season started strong for him, and while he could have carried on with the lead on top of the table, there were multiple mistakes from the team despite a powerful car.

These issues have been around Ferrari for a long time; engine reliability, poor strategic choices, and a non-competitive car. The strategy has become the team’s Achilles heel.

Choices made in Monaco and Hungary (2022) and Las Vegas (2023) lost them crucial points in the standings. It has been over 15 years since the team last won a world championship (Constructors’ 2008 with Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa).

The Ferrari F2008 being driven by Kimi Raikkonen. Still remains the last Ferrari car to win a world championship (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

However, it might not be too bad for Charles Leclerc to stay at Ferrari for another stint.

He has much time remaining behind the wheel and although the team did make questionable strategic choices in 2023 as well, a positive path of development could be seen. The Abu Dhabi GP saw Leclerc finishing second while Max Verstappen took another victory.

This development coming from a team that had their worst start to a season in the history of the sport shows the upward trajectory in the R&D. With the new engine regulations in 2026, there could be a real chance for Charles Leclerc to shine.

His emotional attachment to the Prancing Horse is apparent and with their strong development towards the end of the 2023 season, there might be another competitive car from Maranello.

Leclerc himself recently mentioned that the team showed signs of improvement in the later part of the season, which makes him hopeful about the future prospects.

Ferrari will also have extra time in the wind tunnel which the team can put to good use and develop a competitive car. This will make Leclerc’s stint till 2029 (if it happens) perhaps more productive with championship victories.

Charles Leclerc in 2022 celebrating his second-place finish in the championship (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

---

Charles Leclerc disappointed with 2023 season but hopes for a stronger 2024

From second place in 2022, Ferrari dropped to third and the Monegasque dropped to fifth place in the championship. This was quite a decline for both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, while the team lost the second place to Mercedes by just three points.

Reviewing his 2023 season, Leclerc stated that he was rather disappointed with the performance since he expected to battle for the championship once again.

“To be honest, it’s been a disappointing season. After last year, we expected to come to this season and try and fight for the championship,” F1 quoted him as saying.

Despite the poor performance, Ferrari witnessed a significant improvement in the second half of the season. The SF-23 turned out to be one of the top cars on the grid behind Red Bull and in constant competition with Mercedes.

“On the other hand, if you just look at this season – forget about last season – I think we’ve progressed quite a lot throughout the season which is positive and makes me confident for the future,” Leclerc said.

While Charles Leclerc feels that the future is bright with the team, there is more for the Italian outfit to work on than just building a fast and competitive car. It will have to rectify a lot of strategic errors that have been made throughout the seasons.