Charles Leclerc's Ferrari contract is "the anointing of their chosen son"

Will Buxton believes that Ferrari have committed to their future. Having signed Charles Leclerc until 2024, the Formula 1 journalist thinks that Ferrari have chosen the driver they want to build their team around in the future. 

"While some may choose to argue that Leclerc’s long-term signing by Ferrari is a means to calm the hungry youngster in the knowledge his time will eventually come, what cannot be overlooked is that not even the mighty Michael Schumacher was afforded a five-year deal at Maranello," Buxton wrote in his Formula1.com article.

"Of course times have changed at the Scuderia and it would be remiss if we did not mention that Fernando Alonso was granted a five-year extension (even if he didn’t see it out) in 2011. But to see Leclerc’s deal as any less than the anointing of their chosen son and the driver around whom the team will build its future is, now, difficult."

Both Leclerc and Max Verstappen have now signed long term contracts and it will be a race between them as to who will win a world championship first.