Charles Leclerc believes winning the Formula One world championship in 2027 is still possible, even as he trails in this year's title fight, the Ferrari driver said in an interview ahead of this weekend's Italian Grand Prix.
The 28-year-old from Monaco has won only once this season, at Silverstone in July, and sits fifth in the provisional standings. He remains, for now, a prince of Formula One without a crown.
Speaking to AFP during the Dutch Grand Prix in late August, Leclerc said becoming champion in 2026 would surely be a difficult goal to reach, but that he still believed it was possible for next year.
From unknown teenager to Ferrari mainstay
Leclerc was a little-known 21-year-old when Ferrari, the most storied team in Formula One, promoted him to its top seat in 2019. He has since become one of the grid's most respected drivers for his talent and elegance.
He finished runner-up in the championship in 2022 and third in 2024. He has nine race wins in Formula One, including one at his home race in Monaco and two at Monza.
Despite his boyish, easygoing image, Leclerc is known for an emotional streak that has at times worked against him at Ferrari.
"I have changed a lot"
Leclerc said he had changed a great deal because good and bad experiences alike had made him mature enormously, both as a driver and as a person. He made the remarks smiling and guarded in front of reporters, despite being seen as one of the most aggressive and fastest drivers on track.
He said he grew up in Italy karting and absorbed much of the passion and emotion of Italian racing culture, but that over the years he had learned to manage those emotions better when things go very well or very badly. Leclerc said this summer he had been affected by negative narratives surrounding his inconsistent performances.
He described the passion inside Ferrari as an incredible force, saying that when things do not go as they should, the team does not count the hours needed to reverse the trend. He added that it can also hurt when results go badly, because people at Ferrari feel it very deeply.
A revived Leclerc alongside Hamilton
Leclerc said he felt revitalised by his win in Britain. His car, from the team nicknamed the Cavallino Rampante, has been able to rival that of his illustrious teammate since 2025, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton, 41, whose fame extends well beyond Formula One, told a press conference on Thursday that there was nothing better than being a Ferrari driver, calling it an honour and a privilege to come to Italy for this emblematic race with the best team in the world.
Tifosi "delirium" at Monza
Leclerc said he also feels carried by the immense enthusiasm of the tifosi, Ferrari's famously devoted fans, who take over the Monza circuit and the city of Milan in the week before the Italian Grand Prix.
He described the atmosphere around the track as a kind of delirium, saying people are simply wild about it, but insisted it is never negative pressure, only something positive.
Vasseur's calming influence
Leclerc credited team principal Frederic Vasseur, who arrived at Ferrari in 2023 but whom he had known since their time together at Sauber a decade earlier, with helping him keep his passion for the sport intact.
He said Vasseur had brought real calm and the coolness needed to make the environment less exposed to raw emotion, adding that his love for Ferrari and for the sport remains the same as it was on his first day.
Family ties to racing
Leclerc was born in Monte Carlo on October 16, 1997. His father, Herve Leclerc, was an F3 driver who put him in a kart at the age of four and died in 2017.
His other role model was French driver Jules Bianchi, who died at the age of 25 in 2015 from injuries sustained in a crash at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.
Chasing Ferrari's first title since 2008
Ferrari, Formula One's most decorated constructor, last won the constructors' title in 2008. Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen was the last man to win the drivers' championship for the team, in 2007.
Leclerc, who describes himself first and foremost as a citizen of the Principality of Monaco while maintaining his ties to Italy and France, is only the third Monegasque driver in Formula One history, after Louis Chiron and Olivier Beretta. He hopes to become the first of the three to be crowned world champion.
