Formula 1: Leclerc sees dream of crowning world champion in 2027 ‘possible’

With victory at Silverstone last July, the 28-year-old Monaco-born driver is only fifth in the overall standings and remains one of Formula 1’s most outstanding drivers without a world title.

Leclerc told Agence France-Presse on the sidelines of the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August: “Winning the world championship in 2026 will certainly be a difficult achievement, but for next year I think it’s still possible.”

Leclerc was the first driver this year to renew his contract with his team, which he considers “my second family”.

Widely respected for his talent and refined personality, Leclerc was just an obscure 21-year-old driver when he found himself in 2019 with the most famous and historic team in the Formula 1 championship.

He finished second and third in the 2022 and 2024 world championships, while taking nine championship race wins, including a victory on home soil in Monaco and two at Monza.

Everything would be a smile for the newly married young driver, who has also proven his acumen in the business world and has become a star on social networks, with about 33 million people following him on various platforms, if he did not sometimes suffer emotional and emotional sensitivity, which cost him during his career at Ferrari, where there is unparalleled pressure.

– “I’ve changed a lot”

“I’ve changed a lot because experiences, good or bad, make us grow as a driver and as a person,” says Leclerc.

The driver appears to the media with a calm, smiling and reserved personality, in stark contrast to his aggressive style and high speed on race tracks.

He adds: “I grew up racing karts in Italy and I was very influenced by Italian passion and feelings. But over the years I’ve been able to manage those feelings better when things were going great or when they were at their worst.”

Leclerc revealed this summer that he had been affected by “negative narratives” about his fluctuating form during the season.

The Ferrari driver confirms: “Ferrari’s passion is a huge force and when things don’t go our way, we spare no time and effort to turn things around.”

Leclerc continued in an interview with Agence France-Presse and two specialist media outlets, ESPN and Formula Passion: “But it can also be painful when things don’t go well because people feel it very deeply.”

The driver regained his vitality after winning the British Grand Prix at the start of July, a victory that showed his car’s ability to compete with that of fellow British seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton from 2025.

The 41-year-old British driver, whose international fame goes far beyond Formula 1, said at a press conference on Thursday: “There is nothing better than being a Ferrari driver. What an honor and a privilege to come to Italy to compete in this oldest race with the best team in the world!”

Leclerc, for his part, is very impressed with the “enormous enthusiasm” that the Scuderia’s fans are spreading at Monza and Milan in the week leading up to the Italian Grand Prix.

-“Madness”-

“The atmosphere around the track is crazy, people are just so excited,” says Leclerc. “But it’s not negative pressure at all, it’s completely positive.”

To “keep my passion the same, Leclerc has the support of his team principal, Frenchman Frédéric Wasser, who takes over from him in 2023, but has known him since they worked at Sauber nearly a decade ago.

He continues, “Farid really brought that calmness and that coolness that’s necessary to make the environment less emotional.”

“My love for Ferrari and this sport has been the same since day one,” confirms the Monte Carlo native.

Leclerc is the son of Formula 3 driver Hervé Leclerc, who died in 2017. His father introduced him to the world of karting at the age of four.

French driver Jules Bianchi was also one of his most prominent role models until he died aged 25 in 2015 from injuries he sustained in a crash at the Japanese Formula 1 Grand Prix last year.

Ferrari is the most decorated team in the championship’s history, but its last Constructors’ Championship title was in 2008, while the last drivers’ world title was in 2007, when Finland’s Kimi Raikkonen took the championship.

Leclerc first presents himself as a citizen of the Principality of Monaco, without denying any ties to Italy or France. He is the third driver from the principality to compete in Formula 1 after Louis Chiron and Olivier Beretta.

Leclerc dreams of becoming the first driver from Monaco to win the Formula 1 World Championship.

© 2026 AFP