F1 News: Aston Martin 'approach made' for shock Charles Leclerc swoop from Ferrari

Charles Leclerc is mocked up wearing an Aston Martin race suit — Photo: © IMAGO

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Aston Martin 'approach made' for shock Charles Leclerc swoop from Ferrari

Bold move from Aston Martin

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Wednesday 23 September 2026 12:29

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Aston Martin are reported to have made a move to sign for Charles Leclerc from Ferrari to replace one of their drivers.

However, the 28-year-old turned down the approach to instead sign a new deal at Maranello that will keep him at the Italian team until at least 2030.

According to Motorsport, Aston Martin's move for Leclerc happened at the end of 2025, during a period of big instability for the team having just replaced team principal Andy Cowell with their technical chief Adrian Newey, although it is unclear whether the Leclerc approach was to take Fernando Alonso or Lance Stroll's seat.

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Leclerc though never really entertained the offer, perhaps wisely sticking with Ferrari rather than lurch head first into a troubled Aston Martin project.

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Leclerc admits manager speaking to other F1 teams

The reports come following Leclerc's most recent appearance on F1's Beyond the Grid podcast, where he admitted that while he had not directly spoken to other teams before committing to Ferrari, his manager Nicolas Todt had been around the paddock on his behalf.

This isn't an unusual practice for an F1 driver, who will always be scoping the grid to see what offers are out there.

Leclerc said: "For that, I'm also lucky to be in the position where I've got my manager," he said on a recent episode of F1's Beyond the Grid podcast when asked how seriously he had considered a life away from Ferrari.

"And my manager is here to let me know about what are the other opportunities, what's going on around. And so I didn't have any personal talks, but my manager did.

"I mean, it's his job to be honest with me and to give me the full picture of what's going on in the paddock and what opportunities we might have. So, yes, there were other opportunities. But at the end of the day, we sat down with Ferrari and we made it happen quite quickly."

Charles Leclerc's manager approached Mercedes over replacing Lewis Hamilton

Leclerc to Mercedes and McLaren explored

Motorsport also report that Todt had spoken to Mercedes about Leclerc possibly replacing the outgoing Hamilton at the team, having got sniff of the situation before the seven-time world champion's shock move to Ferrari.

Todt also reportedly spoke to McLaren chiefs Andrea Stella and Zak Brown, but this was also at the end of 2025 when the Woking team's two drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were fighting hard for the world championship.

Leclerc is determined to stay with Ferrari, and that includes working with under fire Fred Vasseur, who has been called 'Napoleon' for his seemingly arrogant and antagonistic style recently by Italian media.

The Monegasque driver though insists he has full faith in the Ferrari team principal and the team to help him achieve his goals of winning the world championship.

He added: "I don't want to give up on my ultimate goal, which is to become a world champion with Ferrari.

"And I believe in the project. I believe in every single person of the team.

"I think we are in a year where we've been showing innovation. We are very aggressive also in the production plan and in the upgrades we are bringing. And that gives me lots of hopes for the future.

"And Fred is a big reason on why I have signed again as well. I believe in Fred 200 per cent."

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F1 Aston Martin Charles Leclerc