'Leclerc set for bumper pay-rise as new Ferrari deal to match Verstappen'

Charles Leclerc could be set for a bumper pay-rise as part of a new Ferrari contract, according to reports from Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport.

The five-year deal the Monegasque signed in 2019 expires at the end of next season, with Leclerc reportedly set to put pen to paper on a new five-year deal to take him until the end of the 2029 season with the Scuderia.

Leclerc is believed to be currently earning around the $25 million per season mark, with this steadily increasing, Gazzetta claims, to nearly $50 million per season in the final year of the contract.

That is on terms with Max Verstapen's salary at Red Bull, with the three-time World Champion's own lucrative deal set to expire at the end of the 2028 season.

However, 2024 will mark 16 seasons since Ferrari last won a World Championship, with Leclerc's own last win coming in the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix.

Gazzetta also reports that should the team not be in a competitive state after three years of the new contract, a break-clause could be activated, terminating the deal early.