Ferrari Boss Reveals Why They Want to Hide Crucial Details of $130 Million Worth Contracts of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc

Even before the 2024 season gets underway, Ferrari  have their eyes on the long-term prize. Along with setting the SF-24 up for success, they have made big upgrades to their roster for the upcoming seasons. While Charles Leclerc has reportedly signed a $30 million a year contract extension with Ferrari, the Maranell0-based outfit has also secured Lewis Hamilton on a whopping $100,000,000 per annum multi-year deal.

That being said, the financial details are all speculated in the media, as no team has confirmed any amount. When prompted about why, team principal Fred Vasseur explained, as quoted on X (formerly Twitter) via Motorsport.com Italia,

“We decided this simply to not provide information that could be useful to other teams,”

While the financials of the deal have been broken out by media reports, the exact duration of the deals offered to both their drivers remains unknown. In any case, the Italian team does not follow a strict salary structure for the duration of their contracts. Both Leclerc and Carlos Sainz received a better paying salary every year of their association with the team.

However, this secrecy is a new for Ferrari. In the past, with both Leclerc and Sainz, the terms of the deal were clear.  This latest Leclerc extension and Hamilton’s signing could start a trend that all F1 teams would want to follow.

After Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, are F1 driver contracts going to become top-secret?

Ferrari isn’t the only team on the 2024 grid to adopt a veil of secrecy with respect to their star driver’s contract. McLaren, too, have been very coy about the latest contract extension signed by Lando Norris.

Even Williams has thrown a spanner in the works this year. Earlier, most outlets believed that Alex Albon’s contract would expire at the end of the 2024 season.  Now, it is being reported that the British-Thai driver is secured till at least the 2025 season concludes.

F1 driver agreements are very tricky and complex legal documents. With bonuses, performance-related exit clauses and options, it makes sense why even a small leak could enable a rival to poach a driver. This was apparent in the entire Oscar Piastri Alpine saga that saw him join McLaren instead of the French team.

Hence, it won’t be surprising to see this level of secrecy becoming a norm in the F1 paddock soon.

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• Charles Leclerc
• ferrari
• Lewis Hamilton