Leclerc signs new Ferrari contract extension 'beyond 2024 season'

Ferrari and Charles Leclerc have agreed a fresh contract extension, with the Monegasque continuing to race for the team beyond the end of 2024.

Leclerc has enjoyed a long relationship with the Scuderia, having first joined the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2016. After making his F1 debut with Sauber in 2018, he became a full-time member of the Ferrari team in 2019 and from there has scored five race wins, as well as claiming 23 pole positions.

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Now the partnership looks set to continue for several more years as Leclerc remains set on his aim of winning the world championship with Ferrari.

“I’m very pleased to know that I will be wearing the Scuderia Ferrari race suit for several more seasons to come,” Leclerc commented on the contract announcement.

“To race for this team has been my dream since I was three years old: I used to watch the Monaco Grand Prix from the window of a friend’s apartment at Ste. Devote corner and I would always look out for the red cars. This team is my second family ever since I joined the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2016 and we have achieved a lot together, fighting through thick and thin over the past five years.

“However, I believe the best is yet to come and I can’t wait for this season to start, to make further progress and be competitive at every race. My dream remains that of winning the World Championship with Ferrari and I’m sure that in the years ahead, we will enjoy great times together and make our fans happy.”

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Team Principal Fred Vasseur added: “Charles’ bond to the Scuderia goes beyond that of just a driver and a team, as he has been part of the Ferrari family for eight years now, dating back to a time before he first sported the Prancing Horse emblem on his race suit. His values and those of our team are intertwined and so it was natural for us to be in agreement on extending our collaboration.

“We know him for his incessant desire to push himself to the limit and we appreciate his extraordinary abilities when it comes to fighting and overtaking in a race. We are determined to give Charles a winning car and I know that his determination and commitment are elements that can make the difference in helping us reach our goals.”

Leclerc will enter into his sixth season as a Ferrari driver in 2024, where he will again by joined by team mate Carlos Sainz, who is contracted to the team until the end of the year.

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The Italian outfit will launch their new challenger on February 13, ahead of pre-season testing taking place in from February 21-23 in Sakhir before the first event of the campaign, the Bahrain Grand Prix, on February 29-March 2.