MARANELLO, Italy (AP) — Charles Leclerc has signed a new contract with Ferrari “for the coming seasons,” the Formula 1 team announced Wednesday
The 28-year-old Leclerc has driven for Ferrari since 2019, having joined its academy in 2016.
Click to Gallery
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, of Monaco, drives during the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, of Monaco, drives during qualifying at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, of Monaco, drives during the sprint race at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press via AP)
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, of Monaco, speaks during an interview at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Montreal. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
Only Michael Schumacher has had more F1 races for Ferrari than Leclerc, who also ranks second for most pole positions for the team. He is yet to win a drivers' title, though.
Leclerc said he “couldn’t be happier to continue this journey” with Ferrari.
“Together we’ve shared incredible moments and some tougher ones,” he said in a statement, “but I believe in this team more than ever, and I’m deeply grateful that we will keep pushing side by side toward our shared goal of bringing the world championship back to Maranello.”
The announcement comes ahead of his home grand prix at Monaco this weekend, when Leclerc will look to back up his win from the 2024 race.
Leclerc has been racing alongside Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari for the past year and a half and has consistently outperformed the seven-time champion.
Leclerc finished ahead of Hamilton in the drivers' standings in the 2025 season and is third in the 2026 standings, one place and three points ahead of Hamilton after five rounds.
“Over these seasons, we have seen him grow,” Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said of Leclerc, “to become not only one of the strongest drivers in Formula 1, but also a person who is completely at one with the team and everything Ferrari represents.”
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, of Monaco, drives during the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, of Monaco, drives during qualifying at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, of Monaco, drives during the sprint race at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press via AP)
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, of Monaco, speaks during an interview at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Montreal. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s interior minister accused activists of hijacking a tragedy to stir up violence after police were attacked at a protest over the death of a teenager who was handcuffed as he lay dying while his killer stood nearby.
Police were pelted with chairs, cans, rocks and flares late Tuesday by some of the hundreds who attended a protest in the southern English coast city of Southampton, where Henry Nowak was killed in December. Two people were arrested and 11 officers and a police dog were injured, police said.
Nowak's death has triggered debates about policing and knife crime, and has spurred claims by far-right activists and politicians that there is bias against white people in the justice system.
Nowak’s killer, Vickrum Digwa, who is Sikh, falsely claimed he was the victim of a racist assault by 18-year-old Nowak, who was white. When police officers arrived, they initially treated the wounded man as a suspect, before noticing his injury and trying to resuscitate him.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said Tuesday night’s violence was “completely unacceptable.”
“The Nowak family made a powerful call to us all yesterday to not let Henry’s death be used to create further division, hatred or tension,” she said. “There can be no justification for hijacking this tragedy to stir up violence and disorder. Those responsible can expect to face the full force of the law.”
Digwa, 23, was convicted of murder and sentenced Monday to life in prison with a minimum term of 21 years. The judge said he didn’t believe Nowak had said anything racist to his attacker.
After the sentencing, police released video showing officers dismissing Nowak when he told them he had been stabbed and repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was sickened by the video and there are questions to be answered about how “accusations of racism informed the decision-making in this case.”
The Independent Office for Police Conduct, which investigates allegations of police wrongdoing, is probing the actions of the officers from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary. The National Police Chiefs’ Council said it will review its anti-racism guidance in the wake of the killing.
After the sentencing hearing, the victim’s father, Mark Nowak, said the case was not about racism or religion, and that he wanted his son’s death to lead to safer streets and not to be used to create “further division, hatred or tension.”
But Nigel Farage, leader of the anti-immigration Reform UK party, said on Tuesday that it was an example of so-called two-tier policing — a popular far-right talking point that claims ethnic minorities are better treated than white people.
Farage urged people to respond to the incident with “pure cold rage,” and said “white lives matter just as much as Black lives.” X owner Elon Musk and British far-right activist Staphen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson, have also expressed outrage at the crime.
Some politicians have called for Sikhs to be banned from carrying ceremonial knives, known as kirpans. The judge said Digwa had a small kirpan but also had an 8-inch (21-centimeter) sheathed Sikh dagger that was used as the weapon to kill Nowak.
Hampshire Police chief constable Alexis Boon said he understood the “desire for answers and accountability.”
“But that must be done in the right way and not used as an excuse to threaten and intimidate my officers and bring violence to our streets, causing fear and harm to those living and working in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight,” he said.
People protest outside the police station in Southampton, England, on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, one holding a photo of December 2025 stabbing victim Henry Nowak, 18. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
People gather to protest outside Southampton police station, Southampton, England, Tuesday June 2, 2026, after the fatal stabbing of Henry Nowak, a British teenager who was handcuffed despite claiming he was the crime victim. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
In this image taken from PA Video, police and protestors clash during a protest following the death of Henry Nowak, a 18-year-old student stabbed to death with a Sikh kirpan ceremonial by Vickrum Digwa, in Southampton, England, Tuesday June 2, 2026. (Jamie Lashmar/PA via AP)
In this image taken from PA Video, police and protestors clash during a protest following the death of Henry Nowak, a 18-year-old student stabbed to death with a Sikh kirpan ceremonial by Vickrum Digwa, in Southampton, England, Tuesday June 2, 2026. (Jamie Lashmar/PA via AP)
In this image taken from PA Video, police and protestors clash during a protest following the death of Henry Nowak, a 18-year-old student stabbed to death with a Sikh kirpan ceremonial by Vickrum Digwa, in Southampton, England, Tuesday June 2, 2026. (Jamie Lashmar/PA via AP)
