Why Ferrari and Leclerc are playing high stakes with their new contract | Analysis

Ferrari had little choice: undoubted dream candidate Max Verstappen is still with Red Bull Racing until mid-2028. At the same time, Lando Norris (end-2025) and Oscar Piastri (end-2026) have committed their futures to McLaren. Both Ferrari and Leclerc could do nothing but extend their partnership, which has been in place since 2019, partly due to a lack of other options.

Leclerc fails to reach his potential (yet)

With Leclerc, the Scuderia keep a driver on board who has proven he can win Grands Prix. Critical point: only five. It is far too little, given his potential - though he is no Verstappen. Leclerc is often very fast over one lap in qualifying, partly helped by the car at his disposal. His 23 pole positions are proof of that. Yet, during the race, Leclerc struggles. Though Verstappen and Red Bull were superior to Ferrari last year. But six podium finishes in 2024 were simply too little.

Although now starting his seventh season in Formula 1, Leclerc makes mistakes easily, sometimes going just a bit too much over the limit. Then Leclerc finds himself in a wall, something that never happens to Verstappen. Regarding maturity and calmness in his driving, the Dutchman is miles ahead of Leclerc. If Ferrari want - as the team hope - to eventually compete for world titles, Leclerc must finally show progress in this area.

Can Ferrari give Leclerc a fast car?

So Ferrari are taking a risk. The team are putting their future entirely in the hands of the self-trained driver, but he must now start delivering. After six years at the very top level, you may wonder if Leclerc can manage that. And if Leclerc does not gift Ferrari that world title, there is the option of sending him packing. Considering the aforementioned €50 million Leclerc would reportedly earn in the final year of his contract, it will be an expensive affair.

For his part, Leclerc is also taking a risk. The Monegasque has never made a secret of seeing the Scuderia as his absolute dream team. Leclerc wants to win the Formula 1 world title with Ferrari - and no one else. But there may come a time when he realises this is impossible with Ferrari. In that case, he has limited himself considerably by signing a contract until (probably) 2029.

Putting aside for a moment his almost blind love for Ferrari, Leclerc too has no doubt thought: 'Where should I go then?' A driver of Leclerc's calibre can certainly count on the interest of the necessary teams. Perhaps as Fernando Alonso's successor, with the currently ironclad Honda power unit soon to be in the back of the Aston Martin? Or what would Mercedes do if Lewis Hamilton hung up his racing gloves in two years? Of course, Leclerc thought about that and probably concluded that there are uncertainties there, too. And so the 26-year-old thinks it is wiser to stay where he is, with a team he knows.

It seems to be a win-win situation for both parties. But the future will tell if that is really the case.