Charles Leclerc namedropped as bold target for surprise F1 team

Charles Leclerc has been earmarked as a future target for the new Cadillac F1 team. 

1978 F1 world champion Mario Andretti, who sits on the Cadillac board, has revealed he is a “big fan” of current Ferrari driver Leclerc and suggested he would be in favour of an ambitious move to poach the Monegasque.

Andretti was giving his opinion on some of the current drivers during an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport when he spoke of his desire to sign Leclerc at some stage.

“Verstappen is very strong,” he told the Italian newspaper. “I like Piastri for his grit, but it seems to me that at McLaren, for some reason – I don’t know why – they favour Lando Norris.

“I’m a big fan of Leclerc; if he really wanted to change teams one day, I’d take him to Cadillac straight away. Ferrari is Ferrari, and sooner or later it will come back. Always.”

Cadillac have already signed Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez for their debut F1 season in 2026.

An attempt to sign Leclerc, even in the future, would represent a hugely ambitious move for F1's newest team.

Where does Charles Leclerc’s future lie?

27-year-old Leclerc is considered one of the most talented drivers on the current F1 grid.

Leclerc has taken eight wins and 27 pole positions with Ferrari but is yet to fight for a world championship.

2025 has so far proved to be a massively disappointing season for Ferrari, with Leclerc only able to score a single pole position and five podiums.

Despite his evident frustration at Ferrari’s lack of competitiveness, Leclerc has repeatedly stressed it remains his dream to win a title with the Scuderia.

Earlier this year, Leclerc moved to rubbish rumours in Italian media which claimed that he saw his long-term future elsewhere.

"I'm very surprised. I have no idea from where it's coming from. So, I'll rather just ignore it,” Leclerc insisted in July. 

"But I've never said anything of this in the last few races. If anything, I keep saying how much I love the team and how much I want to bring back Ferrari to the top. I was just surprised.

"We have a vision that we share, us three - Fred, Lewis and myself - in order to try and get back to winning. And we've been working to put that all together. And so, yeah, this is our plan. I think we should stick to it."

Leclerc signed a multi-year contract extension with Ferrari in early 2024. 

While the exact length of the deal has not been confirmed, it is believed to run until the end of the 2029 season.