Ferrari need to make a competitive car then Leclerc can become a factor

Charles Leclerc may have signed a new contract, keeping him at Ferrari until 2024 but Flavio Briatore has suggested it means nothing unless the Ferrari team can manage to build a car capable of a serious challenge.

Leclerc's bumper new deal will see him earn a reported $9 million per year, three times what he was already earning.

Leclerc was one of the standout drivers in 2019, finishing fourth in the Drivers' Championship in his first season with Ferrari. The first half of the Monegasque's season was plagued by controversy before he claimed two wins on the bounce at Spa and Monza.

Despite being tied down to Ferrari for the foreseeable future Briatore suggested Ferrari will need to make a competitive car regardless of the money they've invested in Leclerc.

"In F1 the important thing is the car," Told Radio Rai.