Formula 1, we’re begging you to show us the money
How long is a piece of string in Formula 1?
Charles Leclerc and Ferrari have officially agreed to a new deal, securing the Monégasque for what the team calls “several more years.”
Charles Leclerc has signed a deal to stay with Ferrari for “several more years”. Bryn Lennon
As a sports journalist, I sit here and I have no idea what a multi-year deal entails anymore. Two seasons, five years, forever?
It was a beautifully ambiguous statement dropped ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, noting merely that Leclerc would “continue to wear the team’s colours for the coming seasons.”
A bit light on the details there, Ferrari.
Over the past five years, teams have become increasingly secretive about the details of their driver signings. Years and numbers have practically vanished, with the introduction of the fancy new “multi-year deal” vernacular.
And with that, we have no numbers, no financial limitations to how much money drivers are making in this current era of Formula 1.
Technically, a multi-year contract can encompass any contract for two or more years, easy as that. But the phrase also covers a more flexible type of contract, with various clauses and options that allow the team, the driver or both to terminate the agreement early or extend it further.
Compare this to almost any other major sport, where transparency is the status quo. The NBA, NRL, even football routinely announce the crisp, clean numbers they agree to with their athletes, even the contract durations and salary cap breakdowns are out in the public eye.
Why the weird evasiveness in the pinnacle of motorsport?
Perhaps it’s just classic paddock paranoia. F1 teams are notoriously secretive, keeping their financial dealings hush-hush to prevent rivals from swooping in to steal their star talent.
Currently, it looks like Ferrari is heavily backing their two heavyweight drivers in Lewis Hamilton and Leclerc, while their star junior driver Ollie Bearman is sitting down the paddock in Haas after a breakout rookie season in 2025.
How long he’ll have to wait for a call from the top dogs depends entirely on how long the piece of string is that we’re not allowed to measure.
CRE: https://www.nine.com.au/sport/motorsport/f1-news-2026-charles-leclerc-ferrari-contract-mystery-how-many-years-20260604-p603uf.html
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