Charles Leclerc ‘held talks’ with Mercedes and McLaren over Ferrari exit

Charles Leclerc

Charles Leclerc ‘held talks’ with Mercedes and McLaren over Ferrari exit

Leclerc is said to have spoken to multiple teams during Ferrari contract negotiations

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Friday 5 June 2026 20:26

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Sky Sports F1 pundit Martin Brundle has revealed that Charles Leclerc would have held talks with Mercedes and McLaren before signing a contract extension with Ferrari.

Ahead of Leclerc's home race at the Monaco Grand Prix, the Scuderia announced that their driver had signed a new multi-year deal.

British publication The Race reported that Leclerc already had a contract in place until 2029, but this new deal extends into the 2030s.

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Before re-signing with Ferrari, however, there were whispers Leclerc had been speaking to rival teams and Martin Brundle has now revealed which ones he thinks were in contention for the Monegasque driver's signature.

Leclerc 'held talks' with Mercedes and McLaren

Speaking on Friday at the Monaco Grand Prix, the Sky Sports team of Brundle, Simon Lazenby and Jenson Button touched on Leclerc's contract extension.

Lazenby started by asking what Brundle thought about Leclerc's contract extension with Ferrari, to which he replied: "It’s very interesting because he keeps mentioning Fred Vasseur.

"It’s almost like it’s a briefing, he wants to support Fred in the team boss role and they are very close with him, and so is Lewis. They came through junior racing with Fred Vasseur.

“It’s such an enduring, relentless love affair with Ferrari, except for all the other teams they contacted before they re-signed. Just to see what the market was like, because that’s your job in this business with the front-running teams. Let’s be absolutely clear on that.

“But it’s a great story and he’s comfortable there, he’s been there eight years now. But it’s not really been that successful has it? He hasn’t won since mid-2024. But he could win around here, he could win this weekend. He’s one of the best in the field. I think it’s great for Ferrari and I think it’s great for him.”

Lazenby then asked Brundle whether Leclerc was talking to rival teams, and which teams these were.

Brundle responded: "It won’t be everybody. Obviously he’d be talking to McLaren and Mercedes. At least.”

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