Charles Leclerc has revealed he did have options elsewhere on the grid before signing a new contract with Ferrari but said he firmly believes in the Italian giants' "plan" to finally return to the front of F1.
Ferrari announced a new deal for the long-serving Leclerc on Wednesday ahead of the driver's home Monaco Grand Prix.
Although no specific details about the duration of the deal were released by the team, and there are conflicting reports as to how long it runs to, the extension is understood to have been at least two years and ties him to Ferrari to the end of the 2028 season, as a minimum.
Leclerc's immediate future at the Scuderia had not appeared in particular doubt, given he had signed what at the time was thought to be a multi-year deal beyond 2026 two years ago, but news of the latest extension acts as further sign of driver and team's faith in each other just months into the sport's new era of rules.
And asked in Monaco on Thursday if he had had alternative options elsewhere on the grid, Leclerc said: "There were, yes.
"I'm not going to say [who].
"They can say it if they want but for me Ferrari was always the choice."
Leclerc was 18 years old when he first joined Ferrari as an academy driver in 2016 and graduated to an F1 race seat with them in 2019 after spending an initial year on loan at Sauber.
The Monegasque is set to surpass Michael Schumacher's Ferrari appearance record next season but whereas the legendary German won 72 races and five world titles at the team, Leclerc's victory tally stands at just eight races, while his best championship finish so far is a distant second to Red Bull's Max Verstappen in 2022.
And while he made clear his determination to win world titles, Leclerc, who turns 29 in October said "it's not that I had a timeline in my head" of when he wants to do it by.
"I love the team. I think that's pretty obvious from the outside," he said.
"It's been eight years with the Formula 1 team, 10 years with Ferrari as a whole. They have been one of the first people to believe in me and to help me get to where I am today.
"And I believe in the project as a whole. With Fred [Vasseur] we have a very good relationship and I strongly believe he's the person that will be able to bring Ferrari back to the top."
On team principal Fred Vasseur, who signed his own mulit-year contract extension last year Leclerc added: "I'm very onboard with his vision. I really believe in Fred. This is the first car he's projected together with the team - lots of innovation on our car and we have a long-term vision. Obviously not too long because we want to win as soon as possible.
"That's what makes me believe in this project more than ever."
After slumping to fourth place in the Constructors' Championship last year and failing to win a Grand Prix all season, Ferrari have made an encouraging start to F1's new era of rules so far in 2026 although are yet to beat Mercedes in either qualifying or a Grand Prix in five races.
Leclerc, who sits third in the Drivers' Championship three points ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton with two podiums apiece so far, said: "It's been a good start to the season. Obviously not as good as we want because we want to target the World Championship but there's been a lot of innovation on the car.
"We know where we are lacking and that's more the engine side. We have a plan coming up and hopefully that will help us get back to where we want to be.
"I love this team and believe in this project. For the reasons that's why we are continuing together."
Friday June 5
10am: F3 Qualifying
12pm: Monaco GP Practice One (session starts at 12.30pm)
2.05pm: F2 Qualifying
3pm: Team Bosses' Press Conference
3.30pm: Monaco GP Practice Two (session starts at 4pm)
5.15pm: The F1 Show
Saturday June 6
9.40am: F3 Sprint
11.15am: Monaco GP Practice Three (session starts at 11.30am)
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.15pm: Monaco GP Qualifying build-up
3pm: MONACO GP QUALIFYING*
Sunday June 7
6.50am: F3 Feature Race
8.30am: F2 Feature Race
10.50am: Porsche Supercup
12.30pm: Monaco GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*
2pm: THE MONACO GRAND PRIX*
4pm: Monaco GP reaction: Chequered Flag*
*Also on Your Site Main Event
Watch the Monaco Grand Prix, the first of six races in eight weeks, live on Your Site F1 this weekend.
