Charles Leclerc doubles down on Ferrari loyalty amid 2027 F1 exit talk

Charles Leclerc has reiterated his desire to stay and win with Ferrari amid speculation that he could leave the team in 2027.

Leclerc’s future has been a major talking point in recent weeks following another tough weekend at the Singapore Grand Prix.

He finished a distant sixth as both Ferrari drivers were forced to manage their brakes for most of the race.

Ferrari have slipped back in the pecking order once again due to Red Bull and Mercedes’ recent resurgence.

George Russell dominated in Singapore to strengthen Mercedes’ position ahead of Ferrari in the constructors’ championship.

Next year will be a big season in the driver market ahead of 2027.

The 2026 campaign will see new technical regulations come into play.

If Ferrari start the new rules cycle slowly, Leclerc may have to assess his options elsewhere.

Leclerc, who celebrated his 28th birthday yesterday, has yet to be involved in a season-long title battle since joining Ferrari in 2019.

Speaking about his future on Thursday ahead of the United States Grand Prix, Leclerc said: “I’ve made it very clear. My opinion is that I love the team and I’ve always loved Ferrari and I want to win again with Ferrari, and that doesn’t really change.

“Whenever you are in a team, you’ve got to trust the project to be able to give your best, but I love Ferrari and I’ve always been extremely grateful to them, and I want to win in red, so that is my main priority at the moment.

“No matter what are the noises around us, we don’t really focus on that. We’ve got to focus on our job. Next year will be very important of course because it’s a new era and we need to start it on the right foot, but I’m looking forward to it.

“I think there’s a lot of opportunity in us doing a great job, and that will help a lot for the four years after.”

Leclerc on Ferrari’s Austin chances

Ferrari remain the only team inside the top four of the constructors’ championship without a grand prix victory this season.

Leclerc has scored all five of Ferrari’s podiums, with his most recent coming at the Belgian Grand Prix.

The hot track temperatures and bumpy COTA surface could make it a difficult weekend for Ferrari.

Assessing Ferrari’s chances, Leclerc said: “We don’t have any upgrades where we might think, ‘Okay, we’re going to do a significant step forward’, but if we put everything together perfectly, especially on a weekend like this with a Sprint, it can be an opportunity. I hope we can be back on the podium – it’s been a long time.”

Leclerc’s last F1 win came in Austin 12 months ago.

He has admitted repeating that isn’t “realistic at the moment”.

“I hope so, but I think realistically that’s not realistic at the moment,” Leclerc explained. “We will do everything in order to reproduce that but, more than just trying to reproduce that, it’s more about focusing on the small details and trying to make sure we do steps forward.

“At the moment we are on the back foot compared to Red Bull, Mercedes and McLaren in terms of overall performance.

“But on a weekend like this where there are less opportunities to change the set-up and to fine-tune, there might be the opportunity to do something special, and we need to take that opportunity.”