Charles Leclerc has committed himself to Ferrari until at least the end of 2028, extending a partnership that will last through two more seasons after this year and carry him to 31 years old before it expires. The deal keeps one of Formula 1’s fastest drivers tied to a team that has won only eight races for him in eight seasons.
That is why the extension has drawn attention now. Leclerc joined Ferrari in 2019, won at Monza in a trick Ferrari that same year and was then handed an equal-number-one status drive in the Scuderia in his sophomore season, but the promise around him never turned into sustained success. Ferrari was heavily penalised in 2020 and 2021 after its 2019 bid for glory did not meet the regulations, and only since 2022 has Leclerc been able to drive a properly representative Ferrari.
Leclerc has lived through the team’s changes from the start, serving under three team principals so far, while Ferrari funded his junior career and brought him into Formula 1 with Sauber before elevating him into its own car. Yet the underlying story of his Ferrari years has not changed: he has stayed with a team that has underperformed throughout his entire spell there, even as the team’s current direction is described as probably the strongest it has been in his time with the squad. He has also kept clear of Ferrari politics and kept his head down, which has helped make this new commitment possible.
The tension now is not whether Leclerc believes in Ferrari enough to stay; he has answered that. The question is whether Ferrari can finally build a car worthy of him before this contract runs its course. If the next few seasons bring another round of near-misses, the extension to 2028 will look less like loyalty and more like a long wager on a turnaround that has already taken years to arrive.
