Charles Leclerc’s “inner circle” question Ferrari stay amid exit clause claim

Charles Leclerc is reportedly losing faith in Ferrari amid their lacklustre start to the 2025 F1 season.

Leclerc sits fifth in the drivers’ championship, 92 points behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri after just nine races.

Ferrari haven’t given Leclerc or Lewis Hamilton a competitive car, failing to deliver on the pre-season hype built up by the arrival of the seven-time world champion.

The Scuderia ended last season as the second-fastest team, narrowly missing out on the constructors’ championship.

However, according to Italian publication Corriere.it, Leclerc is growing frustrated by Ferrari’s inability to give him a title-challenging car.

Murmings from Leclerc’s inner circle have claimed that there’s an exit clause in his current contract, which runs out in 2029.

Leclerc will be 31 by the time his existing deal runs out - and has yet to mount a credible title charge with Ferrari.

The Monagasque is widely regarded as one of the fastest drivers in F1, and it could be argued that Leclerc is the only driver capable of taking it to Max Verstappen on track.

Ferrari have continued to produce peaky cars since Leclerc’s arrival.

In 2019, 2022 and 2023 - Ferrari performed best in qualifying but faltered on a Sunday, leading to an unfair view of Leclerc’s performances over a race distance.

This has flipped on its head in 2024 and 2025, with Ferrari showing better pace in the races.

But their race performances haven’t often been strong enough this year to challenge McLaren or Verstappen.

Leclerc has finished on the podium three times in 2025, while Hamilton has yet to finish in the top three in a grand prix.

Leclerc admired by Toto Wolff

Leclerc has insisted he wants to win with Ferrari - but how long can he wait?

The aforementioned report claims Toto Wolff is an admirer of Leclerc.

Mercedes have yet to agree a contract extension with George Russell beyond this year.

Kimi Antonelli is viewed as a future star but has not shown he’s not at Russell's level.

If Leclerc decides to leave Ferrari, the timing will have to be right, given the lack of obvious other opportunities.

Aston Martin will need a lead driver once Fernando Alonso calls time on his F1 career.

Verstappen’s Red Bull future continues to be uncertain.

It remains to be seen whether Verstappen decides to look elsewhere depending on how competitive Red Bull is in 2026 or if he retires altogether to pursue other interests.

Mercedes has been tipped to be the leading force next year, which means they and their customer teams - McLaren, Williams, and Alpine - could be attractive propositions.