Questions remain over 26-year-old’s long-term commitment to his current F1 team

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Ferrari will be delighted that Charles Leclerc has decided to commit his future to the team by signing a new long-term deal.

Although Ferrari didn’t provide any exact details on the length of his contract, it’s likely to be one of the longest agreements on the grid right now.

However, a report from Sky Sports suggests that the Monegasque isn’t completely convinced about spending the majority of his career with the team.

Security is very much the name of the game in Formula 1 right now.

Unless your name is Max Verstappen or Sergio Perez, it’s very unlikely you’re going to have a car that’s capable of winning titles at your disposal in 2024 or 2025.

However, with so many contracts expiring this year, simply staying on the grid has to be the priority.

Not only that, if you can find a way to a team further up the rankings, then that’s a bonus.

Mercedes and McLaren have locked their driver line-ups in until the end of 2025.

Ferrari have also convinced Charles Leclerc to commit to the team for the foreseeable future.

However, the Monegasque driver is now 26 and while he has finished runner-up in the Drivers’ Championship already in his career, he’s never come close to winning a title.

He looks set to be Ferrari’s talisman for years to come, but if they can’t close the gap to Red Bull over the next two years then he may start to worry.

Leclerc may then be forced to look at other options if he’s not got a race-winning car at his disposal when the regulations change in 2026.

Leclerc happy to commit to Ferrari but question marks remain

The report from Sky Sports suggests a reason why Leclerc might have signed his new deal despite not being fully convinced about his future at Ferrari.

After Lewis Hamilton and George Russell signed their new deals with Mercedes, that closed off one potential avenue for the 26-year-old.

It’s very unlikely he’ll ever partner up with Max Verstappen with Christian Horner insistent the team doesn’t need two alpha drivers.

Sky Sports suggest that while Leclerc’s new contract is a ‘huge positive’ for Ferrari, he may have chosen to commit to the deal despite questions over how long he sees himself with the team.

In an ideal world, he would be able to move teams in 2026, a year after the new regulations come into force.

That way he can choose which team appears to have adapted to the changes best.