Charles Leclerc

Charles Leclerc – Biography, Career and Results

Quick facts

Who is Charles Leclerc?

Charles Leclerc is one of the best-known figures in Monegasque motorsport, who rose from karting roots in a tight-knit French–Monegasque racing community all the way to the number one seat at Ferrari. His career has been unusually linear: in virtually every junior category he entered, he reached a championship title or a podium before making his Formula 1 debut with Sauber in 2018.

His career is notable not only for its rapid progress, but also because it is closely intertwined with the story of his family and of Jules Bianchi, the F1 driver who died in 2014 – Bianchi acted as a childhood friend and role model for him even before Leclerc himself started racing. This article covers his career outside Formula 1: the road from karting through the junior formulae all the way to the Ferrari Driver Academy.

The early years

Leclerc started competitive karting in 2005, at the age of seven, and was already competing for the PACA region's Mini category title in his early seasons. His father, Hervé Leclerc, was himself a Formula 3 driver in the 1980s, and his step-grandfather on his father's side – who founded the industrial company Novares Group – also helped fund the young Leclerc's karting expenses.

Jules Bianchi also played a defining role within the family circle: Bianchi, eight years his senior, was the best friend of Leclerc's older brother, and since Bianchi's father ran a karting track, the boys got to race and train together a great deal. Leclerc has said several times since that Bianchi's racing mentality and determination had a strong influence on him – this relationship was more a close family friendship and a role-model relationship than a formal mentoring programme.

In 2011 Nicolas Todt took notice of him and signed him to his management company, All Road Management – this relationship remained significant all the way to the start of his Formula 1 career, and beyond.

Karting career

Leclerc's karting career ran from 2005 to 2013, and progressed gradually from national championships towards international fields:

• 2010 – competed in the KF3 junior category, becoming the youngest-ever winner of the CIK-FIA Monaco Kart Cup and writing his name into the series' history.
• 2011 – won the Junior World Cup in Sarno, as well as the Academy Trophy and the Paris-Bercy Masters; this was also the year his partnership with the Richard Mille brand began, which supported the rest of his karting career.
• 2012 – raced for ART Grand Prix in the KF2 senior category and won the WSK Euro Series. This season also became famous for a start-line incident involving Max Verstappen.
• 2013 – moved up to the geared KZ category at 15, finishing second behind Verstappen at the KZ World Championship held in Varennes-sur-Allier, France.

Junior single-seater career

Leclerc switched to single-seaters in 2014, and made clear progress up the championship table every season, until he finished his junior career as Formula 2 champion at the end of 2017.

In his 2015 Euro F3 season Leclerc also lined up at the Macau Grand Prix, where he finished second behind Felix Rosenqvist – this race is one of the most prestigious, one-off events in junior single-seater racing.

In the summer of 2017, just a few days before the Baku round of Formula 2, Leclerc's father Hervé passed away. Racing in Baku while grieving, Leclerc won that weekend – he later described this race as one of the most emotional moments of his career. He ultimately secured the championship title at the Jerez round.

The road to Formula 1

Leclerc joined the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2016, before his GP3 season. That same year he also made his free practice (FP1) debut: driving for Haas, he sat in the first free practice session at the British, Hungarian, German and Brazilian Grands Prix.

In 2017, during his F2 championship season, he also drove the Ferrari SF70H at a midseason test at the Hungaroring, convincing Kimi Räikkönen of his abilities in the process. That same year he also took part in Sauber's FP1 sessions at the Malaysian, United States, Mexican and Brazilian Grands Prix. This testing programme, combined with his Formula 2 title, opened the door to a Formula 1 contract.

Formula 1 career

Leclerc made his Formula 1 debut in 2018 with Sauber, replacing Pascal Wehrlein alongside teammate Marcus Ericsson – making him the first Monegasque driver in F1 since Olivier Beretta's appearance in 1994. Right in his first season, the FIA also awarded him the Rookie of the Year title.

In 2019 he moved to Ferrari as Sebastian Vettel's teammate, and scored his career's first pole position and first race win right in his debut season with the team. Over the following years he took on an increasingly leading role in the team's driver hierarchy, and from 2022 onwards he entered several seasons as a championship contender. In 2024 he also won his home race, the Monaco Grand Prix – he was the first Monegasque driver to win an F1 race in Monaco since Louis Chiron's 1931 victory. Leclerc remains a Ferrari driver to this day; he extended his contract with the team in 2025, ahead of the Monaco weekend, until 2028.

You can find Leclerc's detailed Formula 1 statistics – his race wins, pole positions, podiums and season-by-season results – in GPStats Racing's own database.

Notable results outside Formula 1

Career timeline

• 2005 – start of karting career, aged seven
• 2011 – Junior Karting World Cup win in Sarno; signs with Nicolas Todt's management
• 2013 – 2nd place at the KZ Karting World Championship, behind Max Verstappen
• 2014 – first single-seater season in Formula Renault 2.0 Alps
• 2015 – rookie champion in the FIA European Formula 3 Championship
• 2016 – GP3 championship title; joins the Ferrari Driver Academy
• 2017 – FIA Formula 2 championship title with Prema; death of his father
• 2018 – Formula 1 debut with Sauber
• 2019 – moves to Ferrari; first pole position and first race win
• 2024 – win at the Monaco Grand Prix
• 2025 – contract extension with Ferrari until 2028

Facts about Charles Leclerc's career

• Leclerc was the first Monegasque driver to score an F1 point since Louis Chiron's 1950 appearance – achieving this with sixth place at the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
• In 2016, before he clinched the GP3 title, his teammate Alexander Albon was the only driver who seriously threatened his championship lead – he ultimately secured the title in the first race of the season-closing Abu Dhabi round.
• During his 2017 Formula 2 championship season, he lined up in Baku just a few days after his father's death, and won – he later described this race as one of the most defining experiences of his career.
• In 2020, during the racing season suspended by the coronavirus pandemic, Leclerc competed for Ferrari in the large-scale simulator event 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual – this was not official car racing, but it signalled his interest in endurance racing.
• His younger brother, Arthur Leclerc, also became a racing driver and won the Formula Regional Asian Championship title in 2022.

Frequently asked questions about Charles Leclerc's career

When did Charles Leclerc start racing?

He started competitive karting in France and Monaco in 2005, at the age of seven.

What championships did Leclerc win before Formula 1?

He won the 2016 GP3 Series with ART Grand Prix, then right in the following season, 2017, also the FIA Formula 2 Championship with Prema Racing, as a rookie driver.

How did Leclerc make it to Formula 1?

He joined the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2016, proving himself in Haas and Sauber free practice sessions as well as a Ferrari test, and after his 2017 F2 championship title became a Sauber driver in 2018.

Who was Jules Bianchi in Leclerc's life?

Bianchi was a close friend of the Leclerc family and the best friend of Charles's older brother; the boys raced together often in childhood at Bianchi's father's karting track, and Leclerc says he inherited his racing determination from him.

Did Leclerc compete in other car racing categories alongside F1?

He did not take part in any significant official car racing series outside F1 during his Formula 1 career; in 2020, however, he lined up for Ferrari in the simulator event 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual.

Which team did Leclerc make his Formula 1 debut with?

He debuted with the Sauber team in 2018, then moved to Ferrari from 2019, where he has raced ever since.

How long does Leclerc's current Ferrari contract run?

Leclerc extended his contract with Ferrari in 2025, ahead of the Monaco race weekend, tying him to the team until 2028.

Sources

• Wikipedia – Charles Leclerc
• Formula1.com – Charles Leclerc official driver profile
• FIA Formula 2 – Hall of Fame: Charles Leclerc (2017 champion)
• Wikipedia – 2016 GP3 Series
• Wikipedia – 2017 Formula 2 Championship
• Association Jules Bianchi – Leclerc on his friendship with Jules Bianchi
• Sky Sports – Leclerc extends with Ferrari until 2028
• Formula1.com – Leclerc after his 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual appearance