26-year-old’s new contract could now be announced alongside F1 car unveiling

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Ferrari could be about to deliver two huge pieces of good news by announcing Charles Leclerc’s new contract alongside the unveiling of their 2024 car.

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz are two of the highest-profile drivers who are out of contract at the end of 2024.

However, a report from Gazzetta dello Sport suggests that Leclerc’s future could be decided by February 13^th when the team reveal their latest car.

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur will be hoping that his team can close the gap to Red Bull over the winter.

Improvements have been made, but they’re not currently satisfied with their progress.

It’s impossible to know right now just how much faster Red Bull will be this year.

They would have made strides forward and while the rest of the grid slowly closed in on them in 2023, they weren’t bringing upgrades because of the work they were doing on the RB20.

One of Max Verstappen’s closest rivals was Charles Leclerc who regularly out-qualified him before being let down by his car on Sunday.

Martin Brundle declared the 26-year-old might be even faster than Verstappen in terms of raw pace.

Leclerc appears to be confident that the team are going to get their next car right and may announce his new contract alongside the new Ferrari’s unveiling.

It would take one of the quickest drivers off the market and close off an opportunity at a top team for other drivers looking for an upgrade.

Leclerc could announce contract alongside new car

The report suggests that Leclerc has already signed a new deal with Ferrari after being rumoured to have agreed a long-term deal.

They then go on to say that the ‘official announcement’ could come alongside the presentation of their new car.

It would be a big step forward for Ferrari to keep Leclerc as the Monegasque does have the pace to be a future world champion.

He finished runner-up to Verstappen in 2022, but never really looked like toppling the Dutchman despite winning three races and finishing on the podium 11 times.

The 26-year-old has a lot of fans in the paddock including Eddie Jordan who would have him in his team above Fernando Alonso.

Leclerc will hope Ferrari’s newest car justifies his decision to sign a new contract with the team.

Otherwise, he could be trapped in a team that no longer matches his ambitions.