Three months after marrying civilly and very privately to Alexandra Saint Mieux, Charles Leclerc marries Ferrari for life. Seven years of connection with Maranello, without world titles and with few victories, have not at all shaken his faith in the Prancing Horse. In fact, the just announced indefinite renewal is proof that Leclerc intends to remain a Ferrari driver forever. But, above all, it is a message of hope in what Ferrari is doing to return to the top and stay there.
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The announcement comes on the eve of Monte Carlo, the race that Charles absolutely wants to win with a Ferrari whose characteristics fit very well with the Principality circuit. But it also comes after a stormy week for the media flop of the launch of the electric Ferrari Luce, with the collapse of shares and a loss of around 4.7 billion in capitalization on May 25. A spectacular fall for a car that has excellent technological content, but was “communicated” very badly, like many other recent things – including certain statements from the top management – handled very poorly.
Leclerc’s renewal, which came not coincidentally right now, is instead a breath of fresh air and confirmation that in the Scuderia that races in the grands prix one can still believe, that despite the disappointments so far from the four years of Vasseur’s management, now something has started to move to climb back up and erase the past. Leclerc is 28 years old, in the prime of his career, and the aggressive and – sometimes – exaggerated way he has always raced is proof of a love for Ferrari that goes beyond logic. The same somewhat reckless love that characterized the seasons of Alesi and those of Villeneuve, two other champions who never backed down in the face of risk, even if poorly rewarded by the small number of successes. The arrival of Hamilton in the team should theoretically have placed Charles in a subordinate position in the hierarchy. So it was in words, from the Cavallino’s management. But Leclerc immediately responded with performances that instead overshadowed the seven-time world champion, with a demonstration of character that no one could have imagined.
It is likely that Charles, now, has renewed under conditions that avoid any misunderstanding about first or second driver roles and priorities in technical choices, also thinking about the future when Hamilton will no longer be there and maybe a champion like Verstappen (just an example) or a young aggressive driver like Bearman (and this is no coincidence) will arrive alongside him. Everything, in this sense, is still in limbo because Ferrari is waiting for Hamilton to replicate until the end of the championship the excellent things he showed in Canada, the only race in two years in which the 7-time world champion delivered the performances for which he was hired. Really too little. With Leclerc’s signing now Lewis is under scrutiny with a series of question marks that do not concern so much the continuation of the contract (he has an option, his, for 2027: but everything in F.1 is fluid) but the credibility he must consolidate or regain within the Scuderia.
Delicate situations that will obviously depend on the car’s performance. That car which, in seven years, has never been competitive enough to allow Leclerc to think about the title. That car which in Hamilton’s hands has not made the difference and often Lewis has struggled in anonymity. The next races will give us more exhaustive indications on a crazy world championship that is still wide open. Leclerc is ready to go on the attack, to prove that his choice to renew is winning, dispelling the specter of a leap into the unknown. And we are waiting for him.
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