MONACO (AP) — Charles Leclerc said he turned down offers from other Formula 1 teams before signing a new multiyear deal with Ferrari, insisting it would mean more to win his first drivers' title with the Scuderia than anyone else.
The fresh deal — announced ahead of his home Monaco Grand Prix taking place this weekend — extended the 28-year-old Leclerc's association with the storied team that began a decade ago, initially in its academy.
Leclerc has yet to become champion after seven full seasons as an F1 driver so changing teams was an option in a bid to fulfill his dream, he told a news conference on Thursday — without saying who came in for him.
“There were, yes,” he said of rival bids that were on the table. “I’m not going to say who — they can say it if they want. For me, Ferrari was always the choice.”
Asked if he was given assurances by Ferrari about its future competitiveness, Leclerc said it was “part of all the discussions.”
“But winning in red for me has got a very unique feeling,” Leclerc added, "and something that I’ve dedicated all the years.
“We didn’t manage to achieve that yet, at least in a full season.”
Mercedes has dominated the start of the F1 season, winning the first five races — the last four victories going to Kimi Antonelli.
But Leclerc, who is third in the drivers' standings, believes that could change around the iconic twisty circuit in Monaco.
“I mean, if there’s one track I will bet on on us, it’s probably Monaco,” said Leclerc, who won F1's most famous race in 2024.
“However, I still believe that Mercedes have had a significant advantage since the beginning of the year. So I think they would be very, very strong.”
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, of Monaco, drives during the practice session at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/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)
NEW YORK (AP) — Saying “We don’t want to see ‘60 Minutes’ die,” the three remaining correspondents at the turmoil-plagued CBS News show have decided to stay – for now.
A memo from Lesley Stahl, Jon Wertheim and Bill Whitaker to fellow staffers at the CBS News show expressed anger over the recent firings at the show, and said the three had had “a hard time” deciding whether to stay — but ultimately decided to remain.
“Here’s why we are staying: We don’t want to see ‘60 Minutes’ die,” the three wrote in a joint memo obtained by The Associated Press on Friday.
They expressed their regret over the recent firings of colleagues implemented by Bari Weiss, the new CBS News editor-in-chief, and the executive producer she installed last week, Nick Bilton. He replaced Tanya Simon, who was let go along after a 30-plus year tenure with the show, and correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, among other top staffers. Scott Pelley was then fired this week after a tense confrontation with CBS News bosses.
“We want to express how sorry we are that these principled, fair and honest journalists were treated so shabbily, with such indecency," the three correspondents said in their memo. But they said they were “working to build trust” with Bilton, their new boss, and left open the possibility that they could leave later, if need be.
“If we can continue doing the work that made this show what it is — committing acts of independent, fearless journalism and storytelling — we’re here for it," the three wrote. “If not, we leave.”
“Here’s to Season 59!” the note ended.
Persuading the three to remain was a crucial step in Bilton’s task of getting the show back on track for the next season, which launches in September.
The show is suddenly down four correspondents. In addition to the three dismissed, Anderson Cooper — whose primary job is on-air work for CNN — said earlier this year he was leaving of his own accord after two decades.
Bumps had been showing at “60 Minutes” for more than a year. Much of it came after President Donald Trump sued the show over its editing of a 2024 interview with then-Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
That became part of a broader shakeup at CBS News after Weiss was named to the new role of editor-in-chief by parent company Paramount late last year following David Ellison’s arrival as the network’s corporate leader.
Ellison’s company, Skydance, merged with CBS parent company Paramount, which later settled the Trump lawsuit for $16 million. That upset some at “60 Minutes” and many believe it indirectly led to the departure last month of popular longtime CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert, who had called the settlement “a big fat bribe.”
CBS News has been at the center of the American broadcast-news ecosystem since its radio days before the dawn of television, though Weiss earlier this year announced the shutdown of CBS News' radio operation. The network's nightly newscase was seen for decades as one of the most widely trusted institutions in the nation under longtime anchorman Walter Cronkite.
Jocelyn Noveck covers the intersection of media and entertainment for The Associated Press.
FILE - Scott Pelley, anchor of "CBS Evening News," at the CBS Upfront in New York, May 15, 2013. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - The "60 Minutes" team, from left, Andy Rooney, Morley Safer, Steve Kroft, Mike Wallace, executive producer Don Hewitt, Lesley Stahl, and Ed Bradley pose at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York celebrating their 25th anniversary, on Nov. 10, 1993. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
