Charles Leclerc has just one “obsession” in life at the moment and that’s to win with Ferrari, as the team seeks to end its almost two-decade wait for a World title.

Leclerc’s future has been the subject of several rumours this season, a fresh one emerging in the wake of the Singapore Grand Prix as reports in Italy claimed engineers at the Maranello team were ‘angry with Leclerc’ after his downbeat assessment of the team’s chances of winning a grand prix this season.

Charles Leclerc’s F1 future: What you need to know

⦁ Charles Leclerc’s manager warned Ferrari ‘we need a winning car’
⦁ Eight-time grand prix winner insists his ‘only obsession’ is to win with Ferrari
⦁ Charles Leclerc also ‘optimistic’ about Ferrari’s chances in F1 2026

The driver had not only declared that wins were “very unlikely”, but he stated that in the SF-25, Ferrari do “not have the race car to fight with the guys in front”.

That was followed by a comment by his manager Nicholas Todt that implied Leclerc’s future could rest on next year’s all-new car and whether he’s able to fight for the Drivers’ title.

Speaking to the Straits Times newspaper, Todt said: “Charles is one of the best talents of his generation, along with Max Verstappen and other drivers.

“He’s not a kid anymore. He’s been racing with Ferrari for many seasons. We need a winning car.”

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Despite Todt’s comment, Leclerc was firm in his stance that his only focus is winning with Ferrari.

“What I can say is what I’ve always said, and that’s very clear,” he told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets ahead of the United States Grand Prix.

“I’ve always loved Ferrari so much and my only obsession at the moment is to win in red, whether it’s now or in the future. And I want to bring back Ferrari to the top.

“And I would like to add there are lots of speculations around me, but just in general around the team for whatever reason, I feel like there are too many people speaking things not coming from actual facts and it’s just a little bit annoying.

“It’s always been like that. And I think as a driver, but I think as a team, we’ve just got to focus on our things, which is what we are doing.

“But it’s just not great and not super nice to see all these things around the team all the time. It’s definitely not a situation we want to be in, in a way that the performance is not at the level where we want to be. But we are all focused on trying to turn that situation around, as I was saying.

“And whenever there is a situation where the results are not there, then there are always those rumours around that come back. But yeah, I mean, what I say today is what I’ve said in the past six or seven years with the team.”

Charles Leclerc: “I’ve always loved Ferrari so much and my only obsession at the moment is to win in red, whether it’s now or in the future. I want to bring back Ferrari to the top.” #F1 pic.twitter.com/EzFM67UMqv

— Michelle Foster (@michf1fos) October 17, 2025

The Monegasque driver entered Formula 1 as a Ferrari junior with the Ferrari-powered Alfa Romeo team where he spent a season before stepping up to the Maranello squad. He’s won eight grands prix during his seven seasons in red.

Asked how he dealt with the rumours about his future, he said: “I don’t actually look at it anymore. I used to quite a bit in the past, but I just don’t think it’s bringing me anything. It’s not like I can completely ignore them as well because then when I come for media day, and then you get some questions, and you’re like, ‘oh, okay’.

“There are things that have happened, maybe and I obviously do a PR briefing with Sylvia that kind of updates us on what’s going around so we are aware.

“But in between races, I don’t look at those because there’s no truth to it. And the reality is that we are working extremely hard as a team, and we are all very united in trying to come back at the front.

“What’s being said around, I cannot stop that, and we cannot control that. So, yeah, I definitely did a step on that but I also think the team in the last years, has improved massively in order to not get too affected by what’s going on.”

Charles Leclerc explains his Ferrari ‘optimism’

Although Leclerc has been somewhat downbeat about Ferrari’s prospects of last, saying he isn’t “depressed, maybe, of course, disappointing and disappointed”, he has complete faith in the team turning its fortunes around next season.

Next season, Formula 1 will undergo its biggest regulatory reset in its history, with all-new engines and cars on the grid.

The engine regulations will adopt more sustainable and efficient engines that will run on a 50/50 split between combustion engine and electrical power, a 300 per cent increase from the current battery impact.

As for the cars, the chassis regulations will also change with smaller, lighter, more agile cars that use active aerodynamics.

The 28-year-old, who celebrated his birthday on media day in Austin, says he’s optimistic because he “knows” the Ferrari team and the people he works with.

“Because I know the people,” he said when asked why he believes, “and obviously we are pushing massively in trying to improve our processes and in the way we work. There are also new people coming to the team with different mindsets and also different ways of working, and that is giving me a lot of optimism for the future.

“But obviously next year is going to be a very important turning point, and we’ll see.

“But I’m optimistic because I know the team, I know the people, and I know that we are working in the in the right direction, even though some of our competitors came with upgrades recently, and it might seem that we have lost a little bit of performance compared to them, but that’s kind of expected when we don’t have upgrades, when the others do.

“But that’s a choice, and I hope, a choice that will pay off in midterm speaking about the beginning of next year.”

What’s next for Charles Leclerc with limited F1 2027 options?

Re-signing with Ferrari for “several more seasons to come”, starting in 2025, Ferrari did not specify the length of Leclerc’s new contract. His previous one ran until the end of 2024, with reports claiming the new one is said to be for a further five years, running until 2029.

However, all contracts have exit clauses that could allow him to leave the team if certain targets aren’t met. His options, though, are limited.

Constructors’ champion McLaren has locked in Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri on multi-year deals, as too has Red Bull when it comes to Max Verstappen.

While Leclerc could join Red Bull as the reigning World Champion’s teammate, that comes with a whole other set of problems with Verstappen the de facto team leader.

Mercedes is another option for a top drive as while it has re-signed George Russell and Kimi Antonelli in what we understand to be multi-year contracts, they could be 1+1 deals, meaning 2027 is only an option.

There is also the possibility that a team further down the grid, such as Aston Martin or Williams, gets it right next season, giving the driver further options for a race winning car in 2027.

But while it was suggested before Leclerc signed his most recent extension by respected Italian journalist Leo Turrini that he was making a “life” decision and “at the end of which it will either be the new Alesi or the new Raikkonen”, Leclerc’s teammate Lewis Hamilton’s decision to leave Mercedes for Ferrari after 12 years with the Silver Arrows proves nothing is for life.

Additional reporting by Elizabeth Blackstock

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