Our honest thoughts on Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari contract extension

Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the V1 podcast with Matt and Tommy, emergency podcast,

something we've not done for a little while. And it's always exciting when you, it's like,

Tommy, quick, we need to record something because there's actually been news. And it's

about my boy, Charles Leclerc.

Why can't there be news when there's a eight week break, by the way?

I know. Well, they like to time it around certain races, don't they? And all it's all very,

you know, managed and scheduled. But it's fine. We like news. And this one, we will discuss

whether we like it or not. It's of course, Charles Leclerc, deciding to stay at Ferrari.

There's no years that are attached to this. I couldn't find a single contract that Charles

Leclerc has signed where it actually said until X year. It's always multi year, which I don't

mind. I don't mind a multi year for Charles Leclerc. That means he stays in Formula One,

where he belongs. So yes, the idea, the understanding, the rumours, whatever you want to call it,

was that he already had a contract until 2029, maybe 2028, either or years from where we are

right now. It's 2026. But he's like another one, another multi year deal. Thank you very much.

I will never leave Ferrari. And interesting, we joke. And your joke has kind of been about

Charles Leclerc staying forever. He's, I know you can never look too much and dissect a tweet

or an Instagram post or ever, but it's funny that his caption is here to stay, love heart.

That's kind of a, that kind of hits the vibe of I'm not leaving, you know,

Wolf of Wall Street kind of thing. I'm never leaving. I'm never leaving here to stay

at Scuderia Ferrari. This is forever. Don't worry. I will enjoy this for the rest of my career.

Yeah, I bet you are. The phrase don't worry is definitely not. Because it's going so well,

so far. Yeah, lots of wins, lots of wins. Right. Okay, so why don't we get into our first thoughts?

My initial first thought is a mixture of emotions. Let's put it that way. I think,

let's start with the positive. I love wearing Ferrari merch. I think it's a great looking

piece of kit. So I'm glad that he's- My positive is I liked Michael Schumacher.

Yeah, I obviously loved Michael Schumacher back in the day. And I'm glad he's staying

with Ferrari because the dream, the delusion is that he wins a world championship with Ferrari.

It would still hit. Don't get me wrong, but it wouldn't hit the same if he went somewhere else

and won a world championship. The romance surrounding that Scarlet team is something

that can't be matched by any other, in my opinion. So I'm glad to agree, yes, that we are still

heading towards that dream. Maybe Charlotte Clair knows something about the 2030 regulations and

how Ferrari might be with V8 engines. I'm joking, obviously. But yeah, that's that side.

I don't want to call it negatives because it's not. It's more just apprehension of

this has been what Charlotte Clair's had since a long time. My goodness me, how long has he

been at Ferrari now? Since 20? Oh, God. Yeah, I said the number. 2019.

No, I said the number. Oh, you did. Yes, multiple years. It's been there a long time,

and it seems like he may well get to at least 10 years at Ferrari. And you got to just wonder,

surely, one of these seasons, Ferrari will have the consistently fastest car. Don't come at me with,

well, our legal engines here, and he was really fast at the start of 2022.

A consistently fastest car for an entire season. Surely, one of those years,

it can happen, right? Hopefully, maybe. Obviously, it's been a long time since

Ferrari won a world title. We don't need to. Yeah, I mean, it has. You enjoyed that.

And well, not really because as a Alonso Stan, I'd love to have seen him win it,

and he came very close twice. Still, you know, the closest driver to do it for Ferrari

for a long, long time, since obviously, Kimmy won the title,

and the one the constructors didn't know as well. But in 2008, it's been a very, very long time.

But you're right in saying that Charle-Claire going somewhere else and winning the world title,

it would be just so epic to win for Ferrari. Even if you're not, like, a big Ferrari fan or,

you know, you support someone else or whatever, I think for any fan of the sport, the story of

Charle-Claire being the guy to win the world title for Ferrari after so many years would be

absolutely incredible. Like, remember, I mean, everyone remembers it, Alex, Alex's commentary

when he won in Monaco, when Charle won in Monaco, the epic thing. Just imagine if he wins the world

title, like, the story would be incredible for Formula One, the hardship there's so many years

where people said you're wasting your career. Like, if he actually did it, it would be unbelievable.

But there's no denying that it's a risk. And the thing here is people can't predict the future.

There's so many sliding doors moments in Formula One, and you just don't know how it's going to go.

However, much everyone thinks Lewis Hamilton was a genius for joining Mercedes.

It was still like a moment where, like, you just don't know. And things have gone one way,

and things have gone the other. And you look at Lando, I remember doing a podcast when we first

started P1 about Lando and Orison going, does he need to leave McLaren? They're not going anywhere.

He should probably think he's going to waste his talent. He's one of the best drivers in Formula

One. He needs to go somewhere else. And he stayed at McLaren. They turned it around and won the

World Championship. So it's not impossible. I think that's some positive to hang on to,

some hope and point. Oh, I will be clinging on to that. So thank you, Tommy. That's made me

believe all over again. Let's get into some questions. NerdLFC asks, what do you think was

the biggest factor in Leclerc choosing to extend? I think, without discrediting him,

is that there was nowhere really else to go. Because, as we mentioned, you've got to be in

the right place at the right time. And at the moment, that is Mercedes and McLaren. And they're

two kind of driver lineups that are kind of locked in. We still don't know whether Mercedes are going

to keep George Russell on board, depending on what happens this season, whether George decides to go

elsewhere, whether Toto keeps him, because he's offering him very short deals as well.

And you kind of said this, we've had this conversation a few times of like, unfortunately,

for Leclerc, he's an incredibly good driver. I think one of the most gifted drivers on the

grid and one of the best. But unfortunately, his CV does not reflect that. And I think that's not

really fair on him. It's not all his driving, certainly not. But he doesn't have that credit

in the bank, like if a Stappen or a Lewis Hamilton has where he goes, I'm going to Ferrari now,

see you later, Carlos Sainz. I don't care that you're actually really good and definitely wouldn't

have left in any other situation. I'm joining Ferrari goodbye. Unfortunately, for Charles,

even those are fantastic driver, can't do that. So it does make sense. And I just don't see where

else he could go. The only other option might be Red Bull, if Max leaves. But is that, again,

we'd be talking about, is that just a sideways step? I don't personally see Red Bull returning to

the team that they were anytime soon, sadly for me. Bit of my pain now.

So in terms of the biggest factor for Leclerc choosing to extend, I think there was a few. But

one of the biggest for me was the fact that he just loves the team. He is absolutely

sold on the dream that we have just spoken about of winning a world championship for Ferrari.

I feel like just everything about the team fits so well with what Charles Leclerc stands for and

is. And I don't know, it just, it makes sense. And I don't know if that just sounds complete rubbish,

but it does. The Leclerc Ferrari partnership just is one that has gone on now for quite some time.

And yes, there have been some very, very difficult moments, but the highs, there's no other team

in the world where you could win at their home race. And it is like the biggest pandemonium event.

It's not like, for example, when we had a German Grand Prix and you won for Mercedes,

there, for example. It's not the same. You don't have the same as winning at Monza

for Ferrari. There's no better race. So I think those kind of moments just stick with the driver.

And for Leclerc, the love for the team is definitely one. And another one is the fact that

there is nowhere to go. Mercedes, McLaren, I feel, are firmly locked off at the moment,

at least for a Leclerc. For a Max Verstappen, he could knock on the door and speak to Toto and say,

can I play with your car? And he'll say yes. And then George will probably leave.

But sadly, as much as he has unlimited credit in the bank from me personally, Leclerc,

you know, he's incredible. It's not the same. So yeah, there's a lot of factors.

And also the fact that Ferrari aren't terrible. You know, people talk about Ferrari on social

media as if they're the fifth or sixth fastest team at the moment. They are a team that, yes,

have not won a race this year, but they've been right up there and close to being fastest.

And that's the problem that Ferrari always do is that they're second or third fastest.

They finish second in the constructors all the time. And that's not a bad team to be.

And you know, if Leclerc was to then announce this year, I'm going to ask to Martin,

because I believe in the dream there. Everyone would be questioning why the hell are you doing

that? Or why the hell are you going to any other team other than Mercedes or McLaren? But neither

of those are possible. So I don't really think the criticism that Leclerc will get of wasting

his career is fair. I know some people are going, oh, why don't you just wait to see what happens

with Max and how that changes the whole driver market? But what's to say that isn't happening

anyway? Just because he's announced this contract extension, we know how little contracts actually

matter in the world of Formula One. If a team wants a driver, they will make it happen. We've

seen that before. So as much as this has been announced, you know that the conversations,

or at least if you think about it, the paddock conversations are ongoing all the time. So I'm

sure Leclerc's team have looked at the options and this is the best one.

I think Ferrari, as you say, is that loyalty to Ferrari? And just to go on your point that

you made at the start, even with people that have won World Championships together like Max

Hustappen and Red Bull Lando with McLaren, there's no kind of more emotional bond between a team

and driver like there is Charlotte McLaren Ferrari. However, much people like take the

mick out of it. It's true that he kind of is born to be a Ferrari driver from the start

and he wants to win that world title for Ferrari. And that is a risk he's willing to take as well.

And Ferrari equally, I think, want as much as they've got Lewis Hamilton, I think deep down

Ferrari want Charlotte to be that driver to win the World Championship for them because it would

be an unbelievable story. I mean, if Hamilton won it, it would be as well. So basically,

if either of them win, they've got a great story. But I think obviously Hamilton's gone there

because he always wanted to drive for Ferrari if he wins the World Title, great. Whereas,

I mean, this is proving that Charlotte McLaren is always their kind of future plan,

if you like, for the long term because Lewis Hamilton isn't, with the greatest of respect,

getting a multi year deal because he probably will retire because he just will have to at some

point, even though I think he will stay longer than maybe we expected initially. So yeah,

I do think that a lot of it is just the bond between them as well. And they really, really,

really want to make it work. And there is however much you want to be in the best car,

there is loyalty to Formula One as much as people maybe don't think there would be.

Well, there's a lot of red bull like there's loyalty and then there's just generally like

people forget that these are actual human beings, the drivers as well. And they'd have to uproot

their entire life. If LeClaire was to move from Ferrari to Mercedes, or I guess he would take

Mercedes in a heartbeat. But like, you know, there are plenty of other logistical reasons

that we don't think about as well. You'd have to change his car from a Ferrari to a Mercedes.

Yeah. It's a tough life. You've got to think about these things.

It is very tough. But I will say that if Hamilton won for Ferrari, I think from a global side of

things that would transcend the LeClaire Championship at Ferrari as much as that breaks my

heart to say. But both of them would be massive for the sport. Next question, Brock and Soles.

Is this promising for Ferrari in the sense that Charles is hopeful they can deliver a title

winning car under these regulations? I love the positive spin on with this question of the fact

that, you know, it could be that he just likes a lot of money driving Ferraris and it's very,

very comfortable life with a podium sitting car at the moment. But no, it's we're going to get a

title winning car under these regulations. I don't know if Charles, I mean, Charles is hopeful

and Charles has been hopeful since 2019. So I guess the fact that there is still hope is a good

thing. But I'm not reading into this as Ferrari are cooking up something. They know they've done

a double. Shall know something next year. I would love to say that, but I can't I can't jump. I can't

for my own emotion. I can't jump on that hype train.

I think they the promise of them delivering a title in these regulations.

The thing we said at the start about Lando never say never because no one would have expected it.

And it's very easy to look at it and go, Oh, well, Red Bull are just going to dominate this whole

regulation the last time out. And actually by the end of it, they fell off a bit. The pack always

gets closer. And then McLaren managed to, you know, go into a year where they were actually pretty

dominant, particularly at the start of the year, which if you'd have said three years previously,

you'd have said jog on no chance that that's definitely not going to happen.

So I don't think it's out the question that Mercedes aren't going to just completely dominate

for the rest of time in these regulations and win every single race that they're doing at the moment.

That being said, just this is a bit of a side note, but I don't think it's been said enough.

And we've probably not had this conversation. So let's have it now.

How much Ferrari have been shafted with these regulations? And I don't think they're shouting

about this anywhere near enough as I think someone like Christian Horner or Toto Wolf would be.

Because they built a car for these regs to just start a Grand Prix normally, knowing they'd

have an advantage with a great start. And yet they changed the rules. So there was a start

procedure, which immediately kind of made their starts less good. Because if it was just a case

of five lights come on and go, Ferrari would be leading into turn one every single week at the

start of the season. So they changed that. Then they changed the kind of regulations again,

which has kind of made them further back. And for all the criticism that Ferrari get,

they built, I think, a very good car for these regulations. And I think had things just stuck

there where they were with normal start procedure, yes, we'd be complaining about how ridiculous

the regulations are. But I genuinely think Ferrari would be up there challenging for the

championship and race wins this year. Oh, no, they'd lead for three more laps and then lose

the lead again, mate. Just because they get to the lead, I don't think that would change.

Well, Australia was definitely a showcase of that. But then they didn't pit under the

BSE and then their strategies. Yeah, there are other factors. I'd love to say that, right?

But obviously they've brought those kind of procedures in for health and safety of the

drivers as well. You can't be having Ferrari launching off at 50 mile an hour quicker than

everybody else because that could cause some issues. And so I can understand to a degree why

they've brought that in. And also, I guess, of course, there's going to be a lot of conversations

behind closed doors. But Ferrari building that car was awesome to see in the first few races.

But I think we all knew that it wasn't going to last. And already we're seeing that that's not

the case. And McLaren are getting just as good a start as George had the best start of everybody

in Canada. So teams were able to figure it out pretty quickly, I guess, with the fact they have

this pre-race start thing. But I wonder how long that will last in the regulations as well

before they eventually scrap it because teams have figured it out. I think it's going to be

harder that Ferrari have had an advantage. And now they're almost going to have to not like start

again from scratch, but like, refind their performance in a different way. Whereas obviously,

other teams, you were kind of like further back like McLaren surprised everyone with how much

they they kind of improved. Whereas Ferrari started strong and have like fallen off and now

they need to kind of get back there, which I think is going to be quite a struggle. But I don't

think it's impossible. Gosh, who's the Ferrari fan on this podcast? We'd love to see it.

P1P, do you remember a good Karen asks, will we see Ferrari force a seven time world champion

into retirement for the second time? They can't keep Berman waiting forever.

This is going to be very fascinating to see now what what they do with Lewis Hamilton.

He's obviously, his form is now so much better than it was last year. He's having a great season,

I think, and improved massively. And as we were saying, like, Hamilton winning a world championship

at Ferrari or just winning races with Ferrari would be an enormous story for Ferrari.

It'd be huge for their brand, their stock might go up after that hideous electric car that they

released and get back into some positive light. And as much as Ollie Berman, I think, is a real

talent for Ferrari as a brand, you know, Lewis Hamilton is the guy that they want one in

for the name for everything. And obviously he's performing a lot better now and very well indeed,

actually. So Hamilton's going to want to stay longer now, I think.

They are, they do run the risk of Berman looking elsewhere. You know, we look what happened with

Schall, they tried to like get him in early. Sebastian Betel ended up leaving. So for I

have done it before, and like this question sort of mentions, they did it with Michael Schumacher,

where they, something Mercedes did with Lewis Hamilton, where they don't quite

push them out, but they kind of do things. Yeah, yeah. But even Hamilton at Mercedes,

it was kind of a, and we've had this conversation before, a Toto now loves to go, oh, he, I still

feel like he's my driver. It's like, well, you should have offered him a multi a deal then if

he cared about that much. So yeah, they can't keep Berman waiting forever because

I think he's, he would be ready to go into Ferrari next year, I think, but that's not

going to happen because they have the statistical greatest of all time in that seat. And he wants

to stay and he's driving well at the moment. He is, yeah, he's turned around his form this

year as Hamilton, especially off the back of Canada that we saw last time out.

It's going to be fascinating to see what Ferrari do here. If Hamilton's quick enough,

I think Berman will have to wait. I think the beauty of Ferrari and where they sit is that

they can keep Berman waiting forever because the minute Berman gets given the opportunity,

Oli will take it. That's it. There's no, there's no denying that whatsoever. So

just because Oli might have to wait a season or two, or maybe even three, find another team,

if he's not happy at Haas, he will go to Ferrari eventually. It just, it just depends when, I

think, unless Oli's performance, of course, dips and then the whole landscape changes once again.

But something I wanted to say about Ferrari as well, which was probably more linked to the

previous question around Shell being hopeful of a title winning car. Let's not forget that the

engine performance assessment has happened after Canada now. So we should, in theory, hear

which teams are getting an upgrade or allowed to have an upgrade before Monaco. So I haven't seen

that yet. I haven't seen a list or anything like that. But just to give you guys an idea,

I've got it here of what that means if you're not entirely up to speed. So it's called the ADUO,

Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities, to essentially help manufacturers that are behind

to catch up. So the engine performance is measured across three periods, rounds one to five. So we've

had five, then six to 11 and then 12 to 18. And essentially, if there are engines that are deemed

to be between two and four percent behind the lead engine, then they're given an extra three

million dollars of cost cap allowance and allowed to bring an extensive upgrade at some point later

in this season. So that'll be really interesting to see. And if you further back, by the way,

you get two upgrades and things like that, and also up to, I think, 11 million dollars worth of

cost cap. So I really like this as basically a stop, kind of a blockade of not having a 2014

season all over again with Mercedes dominating by a country mile. So let's see what the results

come of that, because that will be a fascinating thing to see if Ferrari, for example, are deemed

to be two to four percent behind, which I would like to assume that they will be to be able to then

bring upgrades to their engine or an upgrade to their engine. So I just wanted to bring that up,

because of course we're talking about Ferrari. We find out that Mercedes were just sandbagging

the whole time and actually now can stretch their legs. Because there was a whole talk of like,

they were pretending to be slower to let people catch up and it doesn't look like they actually

have that much of an advantage and then it wouldn't. But I think this is like an independent test

that it's not like they look at the races and go, oh, you're two percent ahead. So they get their

engine and put it through stuff. That's my understanding of it anyway, because otherwise

you would have sandbagging and then, you know, oh, at Ferrari are actually 1.9 percent behind guys.

Oh yeah, it would be like the balance of performance in the WC that has caused lots of

controversy because people like end up just being slow on purpose and then winning Le Mans

by miles because they basically sandbag, then they do the bop and then they win Le Mans.

So oh, actually no, I tell a lie. So what they do is use live telemetry from the cars during

Grand Prix weekends. Because teams can always sandbag, the calculation relies on objective

physical parameters. So there's more to it, I think, than sandbagging and getting away with it.

So that's why Russell and Antonelli have been battling every race so they slow down.

So apparently the FIA feeds this real-time data into a highly complex secret mathematical equation

to produce the official ICE performance. Otherwise known as ChatGPT.

that the results are released and Ferrari are 5% clear and everybody gets it. Oh, actually Ferrari

you've got the best engine. They're like what? Please no, please no. Okay, next question. LH44SHM7

asks, do you think Charles will eventually win a title with Ferrari or will he bail out of this

extension for a better offer? Yes, he's winning a title at Ferrari and no, he's not bailing out.

It's either not winning a title at all or winning a title with Ferrari and I'm going to go with the

beautiful scenario of him winning a world title at some point with Ferrari. It has to happen. It

has to. For all the banter that we have, I hope it does happen. I think it would be a great story

for Formula One. I'd like to see it and I do think that if Charles Leclerc ends his career,

not even just with not winning a world title, but with the number of wins he has like

or not mastering his potential because I look at the kind of wins that he's had and comparing him

to other people in that situation. He is a fantastic driver and I think it was Sebastian

Vettel that wrote on his helmet when they did a helmet swap when I think Vettel retired or left

Ferrari and said, don't waste your talent. You're one of the one or even the best driver,

the most talented driver I've seen. I think it was something along those lines and yet

here we are with him extending with Ferrari again, hoping for it. But this is the nature of the

beast and the nature of Formula One and I'm not saying that people are, there is an element of

luck in Formula One. That is true. It's not to discredit anyone in Formula One. Had a sliding

doors moment not happened with Braun GP, Jensen Burton would have just been thought of as he's

wasted his career at Honda, didn't go well. He was at the back of the grid and then he got the car

and then he could share what he could do. There's so many great drivers on the grid. This is what

the conversation that we've had of like and it's because there's so many talented drivers on the

grid that we go, Fernando Alonso is wasting his career here. He can never get the right team.

Oh, Lando Norris, he's a really talented driver. Where can he go? Oscar Piastri,

does he want to be second driver to Charles Leclerc? It's because there's so many good

drivers on the grid and for the history of Formula One, as much as we want to see every

single team and driver be able to win, the history of Formula One tells us that

you're basically one or two every year winning cars. There's a very slim chance of you actually

being in the right place at the right time and I'm sorry to end on a bad note but I don't think

Charles will win a world title. I hope he does and I'd like to see it but unfortunately I just think

he won't because of Ferrari. Clip this up ready to roll out in 2013.

Well, everyone's already done the Lando Norris one. He's got to leave McLaren. They're never

going to win anything. Hey, we never said that Lando would win a world title. We said that McLaren

exactly. McLaren wouldn't be able to deliver and then they were like, actually, that's just become

the greatest team and win. So I think you mentioned about Willie Bell for a better offer.

I will confidently say, I don't know how confidently if he will win a title or not,

but I can confidently say I don't think he's ever leaving Ferrari. I think he's Ferrari

till the end now. Yeah, potentially. Although we have seen, we said Hamilton would stay at Mercedes

forever and then to the end of their career or McLaren and then things can change. Even the

team can go. We're looking for a bit of younger talent. Of course, Charles Leclerc is not old,

but when we get further down the line, perhaps that might be a case again where Ferrari go,

look, we'll give you a one year and Charles wants more than that and he'll go somewhere else and

inevitably win the world title. But yeah, I just looked up something which is sad reading,

which is a list of Formula One winners. I've literally got that open as well. Yeah,

I'm looking at people that have got more. It's funny that, well, it's not funny at all, that

when I see that he only has eight wins, that is absolute. I thought we were on nine at least,

but we're not. We're on eight, which is the same as Daniel Ricciardo. We're behind Oscar Piastri.

I say we, like we're all collectively a Charles Leclerc fan, do you know what I'm saying?

We're one win behind. We're two wins behind Valtteri Bottas. Lando has 11 wins,

which is pretty good going for him. And I'm looking at the next car driver on 32. So,

it's a big jump for current drivers. Yeah, I mean, come on, we've got to get ahead of Bottas

at least. We've got to get into double digits, but it's tough. It's been a while since we last

saw a Charles Leclerc win. But anyway, positive. When was it? We're winning a whole US 2024.

Oh yeah, because Carl lost the most recent Rory winner. Shut up. Why?

Actually, Max has won a race in a Rory more recently, actually, because he won that GT race.

Cool. Is that one of the ones he wasn't disqualified from?

Actually, let me well run the list of wins. 71, yeah, Max. Okay, just thought you'd check.

Yeah, 71. All right, I pray for your downfall. Not Max's downfall, just yours.

All right, thank you everybody for tuning in to this Charles Leclerc specific podcast.

Let us know what you think. Where does Charles Future take him?

And we'll see you in Monaco. We're flying to Monaco literally tomorrow morning,

so can't wait to be out there. Of course, all of our podcasts will be out

Internet willing at normal time. So we'll see you soon. Bye.

Bye. Of course, they'll have no wins on Monday.

I wasn't going to say that. You said

Our honest thoughts on Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari contract extension

About this episode

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

Michael Schumacher

world championship

V8 engines

2030 regulations

Monaco

sliding doors moments

Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton

Lando

George Russell

Toto

ADUO

cost cap allowance

balance of performance

Le Mans

sandbag

live telemetry

Grand Prix weekends

FIA

ICE performance

ChatGPT

Sebastian Vettel

Braun GP

second driver

world title

winning cars

McLaren

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