Charles Leclerc responds to speculation linking him to Mercedes; Ferrari driver on rumoured talks: "No, not yet. Not for the moment"; Lewis Hamilton insists speculation does not impact his contract extension talks; Watch the Azerbaijan GP live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend
Friday 28 April 2023 06:17, UK
Charles Leclerc has denied reports in Italy claiming he has held talks with Mercedes about replacing Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton's current contract with the Silver Arrows expires at the end of the season and the 38-year-old is yet to agree an extension, despite he and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff suggesting over the winter it would be somewhat of a formality.
A report in Italy claimed it was "an open secret" that Leclerc was speaking to Mercedes following Ferrari's difficult start to the 2023 season which has included two DNFs for the Monegasque driver.
But Leclerc, who is contracted to Ferrari until the end of 2024, insists no talks with Mercedes have taken place.
"No, not yet. Not for the moment," Leclerc told the media in Baku.
"For now, I am fully focused on the project I am in today, which is Ferrari and I fully trust and am confident for the future. Then we will see, but I am fully confident for the project of Ferrari.
"I'm fully committed to Ferrari and I love Ferrari.
"It has always been a dream for me to be in this team and my main priority is to win a world championship with this team. So it's not something in my mind."
Asked directly if he had had a call from Wolff, Leclerc said: "No. Zero. Zero. Really zero. You all smile because you don't believe me, but I promise."
Hamilton was later asked if the Leclerc speculation had any impact on getting his new deal at Mercedes over the line.
The seven-time world champion responded: "No, not really, I think maybe some of the drivers all have different relationships with different bosses and stuff.
"I like where I am, I love my team, and I'm grateful for the journey we've been on and what we're working on moving forwards.
"So, it doesn't have any impact, no."
Speaking later in the day, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur insisted he was not worried about future contract negotiations with Leclerc, with talks on an extension yet to begin.
"We'll do it in the course of the season," Vasseur said.
"He's under contract with us for more than one year now, and we'll have time to discuss it.
"I'm not scared at all and I think it's not the right moment to do."
The rumours linking Leclerc with a move away from Ferrari come after a start to the season in which he has picked up just six points while Ferrari sit fourth in the constructors' championship and are already 97 points behind reigning champions Red Bull.
There has also been upheaval to Ferrari's senior staff, with head of vehicle concept David Sanchez leaving to take up a role at McLaren, while on Wednesday it was announced sporting director Laurent Mekies would be leaving to become AlphaTauri team principal.
But Leclerc says he remains confident about the team's future under new team principal Vasseur.
"Well, let's be honest, if we are speaking on track first of all the performance is not where we want it to be the first part of the season. The first three races for me were a disaster," Leclerc said.
"But these three weeks I think was good to reset, to look a little bit at the things where we can optimise the package that we have. We have been working on that.
"Then off track, of course, there is a restructuring for the team and that's clear. We had a really good relationship with Laurent, but we all understand in the team that this opportunity is right to take, as it's a really good opportunity for Laurent. So it's like this.
"But the team is more than one person. And yeah, I'm very confident for the future with Fred having what he has in mind. I'm really confident.
"I think he has been open with what he wants to achieve and the way he wants to achieve it. This gives me the confidence probably more than ever. So as much as obviously it's moving, I'm confident for the future."
Vasseur fully understands Leclerc's frustrations with how the 2023 season has panned out but maintains the team-driver combination can bring a world championship to Maranello in future.
"Charles is an important pillar of the performance, and he has to play the role in the car, outside of the car, to be a performance contributor and he's fully supportive on this part of the job. I'm really convinced it is also a personal commitment from him," Vasseur said.
"He's clearly part of the project, he's not a spectator of this, he is involved in the development of the team, he is part of the development because he is developing himself. He is a performance contributor on track and off the track, and as long as he plays this role we are on a good path.
"It's true in every single team that you are always building a team around the driver. If you have a look over the last 20 years, or even more, all the successful stories in F1 took time, but it was always a team building up around a driver.
"It was true with Lewis at Mercedes, it was true with Michael (Schumacher) at Ferrari, it was true with (Fernando) Alonso at Renault it was true everywhere, and Red Bull, you can find tons of examples."
The Formula 1 season resumes with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from April 28-30, with the first Sprint weekend of 2023 shown in full live on Sky Sports F1. Watch Saturday's Sprint at 2:30pm and Sunday's race at 12pm. Get Sky Sports
