Formula 1 News: 2026 Formula 1 Driver Salary Statistics<\/a><\/p>\nFrench outlet Sportune claims the arrangement gives Leclerc significant control over his future, with options covering 2029 and 2030 potentially worth a total package of 184 million euros.<\/p>\n
That would reportedly lift Ferrari\u2019s combined driver bill with Lewis Hamilton beyond 100 million euros per season, making it the highest-paid driver lineup in Formula 1.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/leclerc-and-hamilton.jpg\")
Leclerc and Hamilton. Image supplied by Ferrari<\/p>\n
The announcement comes after repeated speculation over whether Leclerc\u2019s patience with Ferrari was finally running out.<\/p>\n
Auto Motor und Sport believes the Monegasque simply had nowhere better to go.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lack of opportunities was eating away at the talented driver,\u201d the German publication wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year, rumors of a possible departure surfaced frequently. Aston Martin, with its new engine partner Honda and design genius Adrian Newey, seemed to have piqued his interest.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, after the disastrous start to the 2026 season, the project is not an option for Leclerc.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercedes was also effectively unavailable, with championship leader Kimi Antonelli and George Russell already in place, while Toto Wolff is still believed to rate Max Verstappen as his preferred longer-term target.<\/p>\n
The contract announcement nevertheless aligns with comments Leclerc made only days ago, when he spoke warmly about his relationship with Ferrari.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe joy, the desire to win, the passion\u2026 they\u2019re exactly the same as they were in my first year,\u201d he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only thing that makes me feel at home here is the relationships I\u2019ve built with the people. At Ferrari, they\u2019ve seen me grow, and we\u2019ve been through good times and bad times together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leclerc also praised teammate Hamilton, whose arrival has helped reshape Ferrari\u2019s internal culture.<\/p>\n
\u201cA driver who has won as much as Lewis has a very precise working method, one that in some ways has opened my mind,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been very fortunate in my career. I\u2019ve had incredibly talented teammates, and each of them has given me something and allowed me to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reflecting on his Ferrari journey since joining the team in 2019, Leclerc admitted experience has changed his outlook.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday I\u2019m much more patient, because when you\u2019re young you experience every situation with great emotion, but now I\u2019ve learned to look beyond the individual incident,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis has allowed me to overcome even some major disappointments.\u201d<\/p>\n
The renewal comes as Ferrari continues pushing aggressively to close the gap to Mercedes.<\/p>\n
Ferrari ambassador Marc Gene believes Monaco presents a major opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to be very competitive in Monaco,\u201d he told Mundo Deportivo.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you look at the first sector in Canada, which had the slowest corners, we were really fast there, on par with Mercedes, and historically Ferrari has always done very well in Monaco.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gene also confirmed further upgrades are on the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Barcelona the following week, from what I\u2019ve heard, we\u2019ll be bringing aerodynamic upgrades,\u201d he said. \u201cThere won\u2019t be any engine upgrades yet, if they even give them to us, I hope so, from ADUO.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut in Monaco I think we\u2019re bigger favorites; we have a better chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Related Article:\u00a0Formula 1 Editorial: Why Ferrari absolutely does not deserve an ADUO upgrade<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(GMM) Charles Leclerc (pictured) has ended speculation about his future by signing a new Ferrari contract that will…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":714458,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,82],"class_list":["post-714457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=714457"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714457\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/714458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=714457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=714457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=714457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}