Leclerc confirmed that he was already aware that Ferrari was negotiating with Hamilton when he renewed his contract

Following the announcement of Lewis Hamilton’s signing for Ferrari for 2025, a rumor emerged that Leclerc was disappointed and shocked by Lewis’ arrival and that before signing his new long-term contract with Ferrari the team had not told him that it wanted to obtain the services of the British. And now, at the press conference to present the new Ferrari SF24, Charles Leclerc himself wants to make it clear that he knows the team’s intention and this possibility.

“This type of agreement is not closed overnight, it takes time and I knew those conversations before signing my agreement, so I was not surprised after signing my contract,” argued the Monegasque, making sure that this news will not interfere in any way with its renewal.

“For the rest, I don’t want to comment much more out of respect for Carlos Sainz. We have been together for 3 years and we have more one year left together and we want to do everything to finish as high as possible in 2024 . . ,” said Charles before reviewing the arrival of the 7-time world champion in the Italian team from next year.

“Obviously, Lewis is an incredible driver, the most successful in history and has a lot of experience as well, which will contribute to the team and obviously to myself, which is a good thing, but again, Carlos is great and has we are one. more year together to try to do the best possible job,” said Charles, who was happy about the signing of the now Mercedes driver, with whom he assured that he has already exchanged some messages: “We are sending messages, of course. He’s a great champion with a lot of success”

“It’s always interesting to have a new teammate, because you learn different ways of working and driving, and even more so when my new teammate is a seven-time world champion,” he said in the matter this.

Ambitious for 2024

Charles Leclerc is optimistic about the sensations he has with his new SF24 in the simulator compared to last year’s car, and although he does not want to give too much importance to the three ‘demo’ laps he gave this Tuesday at Fiorano before the ‘day of filmmaking. ‘ that the team will perform this Wednesday at the said track, he stressed that last year in his first laps with the SF23 he was not comfortable and that he is already in this car. Of course, Charles said that he did not want to jump to conclusions because in these first three laps he could not push the limit and the car was full of cameras, although he was positive in highlighting that this car should be more manageable and easier. to drive than 2023 racing car.

In this sense, Leclerc aims high. Waiting to know the real performance of Ferrari in comparison with other rivals in the preseason test in Bahrain (from February 21 to 23) and in the first race of the year on that same track (last weekend of this month), Assured of Charles that he doesn’t want to achieve two wins like in 2019 or the three he achieved in 2022. He still wants to, even if he was unable to achieve a victory last year.

“Will I be happy with two or three victories in 2024? No, no. Not enough. I want to win as many races as possible. We will do the math at the end of the year and we need to understand where we are after the first race (in Bahrain “) to understand how competitive we are. It is very difficult to answer now and know the whole picture of where we are going after the first race. But I don’t aim for two or three victories. I want to win as many races as I can,” commented Charles, 26 years old.

“Do I feel more pressure this year? No no. More motivation? I used to be very motivated and it was very difficult to be more motivated. I am very motivated and hungry to get wins in 2023. In 2022 I didn’t get wins and I can’t wait to be on the top of the podium with Ferrari. “I’m fully motivated, but more… no.”