Charles Leclerc responds “I love the team” to Ferrari F1 exit rumours

With race wins and podiums few and far between in 2025, some are questioning Charles Leclerc’s future with Ferrari

Charles Leclerc poured scorn on recent rumours in Italian media stating that the Ferrari driver saw his long-term Formula 1 future elsewhere, revealing his surprise over the speculation.

The Monegasque admitted that the team was not particularly satisfied with its start to 2025, with the team hoping to pick up on its form from the end of 2024 with the goal of challenging for titles — instead, the team has managed just three grand prix podiums this year.

Ferrari has managed to chalk up a sprint race win so far in 2025, courtesy of Lewis Hamilton's victory in China, but generally has found mixed form through the rest of the year; qualifying performances have been so-so, as its race pace has generally been stronger.

This has not only led to speculation about the future of team principal Frederic Vasseur, but also that Leclerc may consider looking elsewhere with a cited exit clause in his contract.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari SF-25, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-25

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Nonetheless, Leclerc explained that he has never wavered in his support for the Ferrari team, and wants to remain a part of the plans to bring the Prancing Horse back to the top of F1.

"I'm very surprised. I mean, I have no idea from where it's coming from," Leclerc stated. "So, I'll rather just ignore it.

"But I've never said anything of this in the last few races. If anything, I keep saying how much I love the team and how much I want to bring back Ferrari to the top. I was just surprised.

"We have a vision that we share, us three - Fred, Lewis and myself, in order to try and get back to winning. And we've been working to put that all together. And so, yeah, this is for sure our plan. And I think we should stick to it."

Leclerc elaborated on his disappointment with Ferrari's current results and the current lack of a title challenge, although stated that part of this was due to McLaren having started 2025 in better form than the other outfits on the grid. Regardless, Leclerc added that Ferrari needed to "find ourselves" in order to renew a challenge for race wins.