Always Red

Leclerc has renewed with Ferrari Charles Leclerc and Ferrari have extended the contract that binds the Monegasque to the Maranello team. Leclerc was not out of contract with the Red team and this announcement in the week leading up to the Monaco GP definitively cements a relationship destined to go down in history regardless of what the results on the track have been and will be. Below are all the nuances of an announcement that says as much if not a lot. Overtaking Schumacher in terms of GPs in red As is now customary in F1 it was not made clear until Charles Leclerc’s contract with Ferrari was extended. Bilateral performance clauses are included in the agreements which only the parties involved should be aware of. 2027 will be Leclerc’s ninth F1 World Championship at the wheel of Ferrari, Michael Schumacher is not yet that close because the Kaiser raced continuously with Ferrari from 1996 to 2006, but in terms of GPs contested with the extra-large calendars Leclerc will certainly surpass Schumacher. Did Leclerc have alternatives? The 2026 starting grid has essentially remained unchanged from the 2025 one at least as regards the top drivers who have not moved. Everyone’s tactic was more than understandable, which was to discover the competitiveness of the teams with the new regulation. Charles Leclerc’s manager, Nicholas Todt, was certainly in contact with Lawrence Stroll about Leclerc’s possible future at Aston Martin, but the English team failed across the board. Ferrari, on the other hand, has produced an excellent SF-26 which only lacks an adequate power unit, but evidently Charles Leclerc is convinced that the possibility of exploiting the ADUO will give Ferrari the possibility of winning the title if not already in 2026 at least in 2027. The Maranello Scuderia has not replicated the sprint start of 2022, but the dynamics this time could be reversed: in the distance Ferrari could definitively get back on track rather than succumb as in 2022-2023. This at least is Leclerc’s hope, which could also be based on some more certainties. There were certainly no alternatives available to try to win straight away, so still betting on red was the best option for Leclerc. The message to Hamilton After Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc was put in direct comparison with Lewis Hamilton, numbers in hand, the most successful driver in the history of F1. No sign of mistrust from Ferrari towards Leclerc, but Hamilton’s arrival was certainly not an act of total devotion on the part of the Maranello team towards the Monegasque. Now, however, Leclerc has already put down on paper the fact that he will continue to be ‘Always Red’. Ferrari is and will still remain ‘Leclerc’s home’ regardless of what the future of Hamilton who recently declared that he is ready to race for another five years will be.

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News , 2026-06-03 17:55:00