Charles Leclerc remains loyal to Scuderia. © ANSA / ALI HAIDER

Long-term contract: Leclerc stays at Ferrari

According to a media report, Charles Leclerc has signed a new five-year contract with Ferrari, which ties the Monegasque to the Scuderia up to and including the 2029 season.

05 December 2023

From: apa/Reuters

The extension comes despite a mixed sporting season and despite the fact that Leclerc's contract would not expire until 2024, the Italian wrote Gazette dello Sport. Leclerc's signature comes with a salary increase to over $27 million per year. In the last year of the contract, the salary is said to be as high as $54 million. The agreement also contains performance-related exit clauses that could allow Leclerc to negotiate an exit after 2027 if he is not satisfied with the Italians' performance in Formula 1.

The 26-year-old Leclerc completed his fifth season with Ferrari this year and finished fifth in the drivers' championship with 206 points. This put him six points ahead of his teammate Carlos Sainz, who came in seventh. Ferrari finished third in the constructors' championship, just three points behind Mercedes and 104 points ahead of McLaren.

Aims for a contract extension: Carlos Sainz © APA/afp / ANGELA WEISS

Sainz's contract also expires after next season. According to the Gazette dello Sport The Spaniard is negotiating a contract extension with Ferrari for two years. Sainz won the Singapore Grand Prix this year, making him the only race winner alongside the Red Bull duo Max Verstappen (19 wins) and Sergio Perez (2).