The Monegasque says his bond with the team principal was decisive in extending his contract. He states that he did not hesitate to sign because he believes in the project and dreams of being a world champion dressed in red.
Charles Leclerc's renewal with Ferrari was not a decision taken lightly. The Monegasque driver, who has competed with the Scuderia since his second Formula 1 season in 2019, has revealed the reasons that led him to extend his link with the Maranello team. In an interview for the official Formula 1 podcast Beyond The Grid, Leclerc confessed that his relationship with Fred Vasseur, the team principal, was a determining factor in his choice.
"Fred is a big reason why I signed again, I believe in Fred 200%. We've known each other for many years and being able to work with him on the team I've always loved is a privilege" stated the 28 year old driver.
Leclerc described his connection with the Frenchman as something special and difficult to explain: "He's the kind of person you talk to once and I don't know, I think it's the values. There's something that worked naturally from the start and you can't fully explain it" he added.
The Monegasque also highlighted that Ferrari's sporting project was another pillar of his continuity: "I believe in the project, I believe in every person in the team, I think we are in a year where we have shown innovation, we are very aggressive in the production plan and in the upgrades we are bringing. That gives me a lot of hope for the future" he explained.
Leclerc, who made it clear that his ultimate goal remains the same since he arrived at the Scuderia: "I don't want to give up on my ultimate goal, which is to become world champion with Ferrari."
The renewal comes at a time of ups and downs for Leclerc. The start of the season was complicated for the Monegasque, with two retirements and an eighth place in a stretch of three races, however the driver found a way to reverse his situation and achieved a victory at Silverstone.
In the interview, Leclerc reflected on the difficulties he faced and how he overcame them: "It's not as easy as saying 'Lewis is doing that, I'm going to do the same.' Lewis is an incredibly talented driver and he has a natural driving style that is his own and he is the best in the world for that particular driving style" he admitted.
The Monegasque explained that he worked on finding a setup that better suited his style: "I tried to push harder to find ways to have this car a bit more adapted to my driving style, I found some things in the data that just didn't work" he recounted. Leclerc emphasized that the process is not simple or mechanical: "It's not like sitting in front of the computer looking at the data and saying 'this is a tenth and a half of a second, let's change that.' It's not that easy, it's intuition, it's feeling."
Since Silverstone, Leclerc found the right path: "The car is constantly changing, so it's not like I can go back to that feeling I had in Melbourne, it's evolving but my goal is to get in the car and not think too much, when you think too much you know you're losing time because our sport is not so much about reacting to what happens in the car, but about anticipating and feeling the car" he explained.
Ferrari's immediate future involves closing the 87 point gap that separates them from Mercedes in the constructors' championship. Leclerc does not want to make predictions: "This championship will be won with upgrades, upgrades are very powerful with these cars, the hierarchy can change very quickly in one direction or another" he explained.
The Monegasque remains focused race by race, without losing sight of his dream of being world champion with Ferrari, a goal he hopes to achieve as soon as possible.
