Charles Leclerc says he was aware of talks between Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari before committing to his own new contract at Maranello.
Leclerc signed a new long-term deal in January; the announcement of his extension coming just a week before Hamilton’s shock move became public. The Monegasque driver says he was informed of the developments by Ferrari before his own deal was agreed, but that it didn’t change anything in terms of his final decision due to the relationship he has with current teammate Carlos Sainz.
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“Obviously these kinds of deals are not finalized overnight, it takes time, and I was aware of those discussions before signing my deal, so it didn’t come out as a surprise after signing,” Leclerc said. “Then for the rest I don’t want to comment that much, mostly out of respect for Carlos – we’ve had great years together and we have one more year together to do. We will do absolutely everything to finish on the highest note possible.
“Obviously Lewis is the most incredible driver, the most successful in history, with a lot of experience as well, which he will bring to the team and myself, which is a good thing. But again, with Carlos it’s been great and we’ve got one more year together to try and do the best job possible.
“No, it hasn’t changed anything in my discussions because I focus on myself and what’s good for me, so there was no change of any requirements or whatsoever, for me that wasn’t part of my discussions. It was good the team was transparent, for me to not learn it after that, but it didn’t change anything for me.”
While Ferrari was keen to try not to have Hamilton’s impending arrival dominate the topic of conversation on the day it launched the SF-24, Leclerc admitted he’s already spoken to his future teammate.
“I mean yes, we’ve had discussions with Lewis, especially when everything was announced and official, we texted each other,” he said. “Lewis is a great champion with a lot of experience and so much success. It is always interesting to have a new teammate as you learn different ways of working and driving. Even more so when my new teammate is a seven-time world champion.”
Focusing on 2024, Leclerc drove three laps of the Fiorano circuit during a shakedown of the new car, with Ferrari set to complete a 200km filming day on Wednesday. Even from that initial outing, he says he’s more comfortable with the car than he was a year ago.
“I remember that after the first lap last year – or if it wasn’t the first lap it was the first three or four laps – I wasn’t really happy with the behavior of the car,” he said. “The car was very, very difficult to drive. This year the car feels healthier and in a better place.
“On the other hand, I want to push on the point that that doesn’t mean anything about the competitiveness of the car, because if other teams have done a bigger step forward in terms of lap time gains then it can be an easier car to drive but if it’s not fast enough then it won’t be fast enough on track. So in terms of competitiveness it’s very difficult. In terms of actual feeling of the very first laps, I will say I’ve had a better feeling this year than I did last year.”