Charles Leclerc has made it clear that driving for Ferrari means more to him than winning a championship with another team. This comes as the Italian team finds itself struggling to keep up with the dominant McLarens after a streak of similar dominance from Red Bull in the previous years.
Talking to Sky Italia, the Monegasque was asked about the reality of watching two separate teams exceed the performance of the Scuderia and fighting for championships, while Ferrari struggle to consistently finish on the podium.
When asked about McLaren’s performance, with the drivers’ championship now realistically a battle between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, Leclerc was clear in his response:
“But I drive for Ferrari! And that means a lot.”
Pressed further on whether driving for the legendary team means more than winning with other teams, again, Leclerc left little to the imagination.
“Yes. Being part of this team and of Ferrari is an honour for me.
“My main goal right now is to bring it back to winning ways, and I owe Ferrari so much because they brought me into F1, they brought me in Ferrari.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Erik Junius
“We need to win now. Of course I’m not indifferent to other drivers winning, like Max or Lando and Oscar now, but I’m focused on bringing this team back to the top. I will do anything with Fred and with Lewis to win again. That’s my only obsession.”
McLaren sits a distant 258 points ahead of Ferrari, who are second in the constructors’ standings. But with the team confirming Fred Vasseur’s place as team principal for the foreseeable future and technical director Loic Serra focusing on improving the car as they edge closer to the 2026 regulation change, Leclerc is encouraged by the changes he’s seen so far.
“The improvements are coming step-by-step. We’ve definitely made progress in the right direction.
“We’re certainly not satisfied with where we are, but we are happy with the steps forward. Before the start of the season there was a lot of hype around the team, and I think that changed the perception a bit of our season. Because I’ll say it again, we’re not where we want to be.
“Ferrari can only be satisfied with winning, and we know that well. But on the other hand, McLaren has made a huge step forward this year. Unfortunately, we’ve made the same kind of step as Mercedes and Red Bull, and indeed we’re fighting with for the second place in the championship. There’s still a long way to go, but the progress is encouraging.”
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