Charles Leclerc has not only thrown his support behind under-fire Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur, but he insists he’s not jumping ship despite being urged to seek pastures new.

The F1 2025 championship has not gone according to plan for Ferrari, Leclerc or Lewis Hamilton.

Could Charles Leclerc leave Ferrari?

The fairytale story of a World title in an SF-25 that was said to have found half a second has not materialised, with McLaren dominating the championship, and Max Verstappen not too far behind. Even Mercedes are ahead of Ferrari.

Seven races into the season, Leclerc has a solitary podium result to his name with the eight-time Grand Prix winner down in fifth place in the standings.

His team-mate Hamilton is behind him, trailing by eight points, while Ferrari are only fourth in the teams’ standings where they are 165 points down on championship leaders McLaren.

At a team that has in the past been called out for its “toxic” blame culture, an atmosphere that Vasseur has tried to change since taking charge in 2023, it is the Frenchman who is under scrutiny.

Leclerc, though, has thrown his support behind his team principal, adamant Vasseur is the right man to lead Ferrari forward.

“I’ve always said I have total trust in Fred and I truly believe he is the right person to bring Ferrari back to the top,” Leclerc told L’Equipe. “He really is the one who can make it win. I’ve always said it.

“I really hope that together we can bring Ferrari back to the top.”

And together is how Leclerc wants to keep it, the Monegasque driver refuting speculation that he could leave Ferrari.

F1 2025: The season’s winners and losers

👉 The results of the F1 2025 championship

👉 The updated Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship standings

Ferrari announced last year that Leclerc had agreed a fresh contract extension that would see him continue with the Italian stable ‘beyond 2024’.

Reports in Italy claimed that the Ferrari Driver Academy graduate’s latest extension ran through to F1 2026, when Formula 1 introduces new chassis and power unit regulations.

The driver has been urged to seek a “new challenge”, former F1 team boss Guenther Steiner telling the Red Flags podcast: “I think he’s been there a long time, sometimes change is good like Lewis left Mercedes to go to Ferrari.

“I think Charles, it’s like something new because at some stage everything just becomes routine.

“He is not in a position to win a championship, so if he maybe goes somewhere else, maybe he gets lucky, you never know.”

Quizzed on the possibility that he could leave Ferrari, Leclerc insisted that it is not something that he’s considering.

“Of course not, there is absolutely no chance,” he said.

“I believe in the project and I believe in Fred. Clearly, it’s a complicated moment and in times like this it’s easy to have doubts.

“But I’m not thinking about leaving Ferrari, I want to win with Ferrari. And I will stay as long as I believe in this project. And I believe in it.”

Such is his belief, Leclerc isn’t giving up on winning this year’s Drivers’ Championship title even though he trails Oscar Piastri by 85 points heading into the Monaco Grand Prix.

“This year we all believed in the team,” he said, “but unfortunately the start of the season was more complicated than expected.

“I haven’t lost hope, because the championship is still very long. Last year Red Bull started very strong, but it was McLaren who became champion.

“I will give my all until the end to try to win the title this year.”

Read next: Early stops, late gambles – What to expect as FIA enforce Monaco GP two-stop plan