A report published by an Italian news outlet has claimed it was an โopen secretโ that Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was in discussion to jump ship and join Toto Wolffโs Mercedes.
Given how egregiously Lerclercโs team squandered a prime opportunity to claim the 2022 world championships from both reigning two-time champion Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing, in addition to how woefully uncompetitive Ferrariโs current machinery appears, you can understand why punters and pundits alike would give such a headline any credence.
Then thereโs the all-important matter of contracts: Leclercโs current agreement expires at the end of 2024, while Mercedesโ seven-time world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton โ who has recently been mired in plenty of retirement talk โ is in the final year of his own agreement with the Silver Arrows. By all accounts, this would be a perfect sliding doors moment.
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But according to Charles Leclerc himself, all is blissfully quiet on the homefront.
โNo, there have not been any conversations. Not yet. Not for the momentโฆ No. Zero. Zero. Really zero. You all smile because you donโt believe me, but I promise,โ said Leclerc when prompted about whether heโs received any calls from Toto Wolff (via Sky Sports).
โFor now, I am fully focused on the project I am in today, which is Ferrari. And I fully trust and am confident for the future. Then we will see, but I am fully confident for the project of Ferrari.โ
โIโm fully committed to Ferrari and I love Ferrari.โ
โIt has always been a dream for me to be in this team and my main priority is to win a world championship with this team. So itโs not something in my mind.โ
โHeโs under contract with us for more than one year now, and weโll have time to discuss it. Iโm not scared at all and I think itโs not the right moment to do,โ noted the newly-appointed Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur.
โCharles is an important pillar of the performance, and he has to play the role in the car, outside of the car, to be a performance contributor and heโs fully supportive on this part of the job. Iโm really convinced it is also a personal commitment from him.โ
โHeโs clearly part of the project, heโs not a spectator of this, he is involved in the development of the team, he is part of the development because he is developing himself. He is a performance contributor on track and off the track, and as long as he plays this role we are on a good path.โ
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โItโs true in every single team that you are always building a team around the driver. If you have a look over the last 20 years, or even more, all the successful stories in F1 took time, but it was always a team building up around a driver.โ
Naturally, Hamilton has also been forced to respond to the latest product of paddock speculation.
No, not really, I think maybe some of the drivers all have different relationships with different bosses and stuff,โ answered the British motorsport talent when media questioned whether the Charles Leclerc-Mercedes rumours impacted his own contract negotiations.
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โI like where I am, I love my team, and Iโm grateful for the journey weโve been on and what weโre working on moving forwards. So, it doesnโt have any impact, no.โ
Translation: unless another major reshuffle a la the Seb Vettel retirement + Fernando Alonso defection + Oscar Piastri refusal occursโฆ Charles Leclerc will remain a Ferrari man, and Sir Lewis Hamilton will remain loyal to Mercedes.
Incidentally, earlier this year, Mr Hamilton was the subject of a similar since-debunked rumour going in the other direction, fuelled by the assertions of former team owner Eddie Jordan. As we now know, however, the veteran of 27 historic seasons clearly has zero intentions of ditching the outfit that was instrumental to six of his seven world titles for a middling rival.
The next race on the 2023 calendar is the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which is scheduled to occur at the Baku City Circuit this Sunday (April 30th โ 9:00 PM).
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