Charles Leclerc no longer remains the only member of the Leclerc family to be a part of the Ferrari F1 setup, with the Italian team announcing his younger brother, Arthur Leclerc, will also be a part of the team’s operations in 2024. As confirmed on Instagram by the driver himself, Arthur Leclerc will be taking up a development driver role in Ferrari while also racing for Scuderia Baldini 27 in the GT3 series.
The Ferrari Driver Academy let go of the young Monegasque driver late last year but confirmed he shall remain a part of the Ferrari family, refraining from revealing any further details about the same. However, they have now clarified that Arthur Leclerc will be a reserve driver for the team, taking up the development duties alongside Antonio Fuoco and Davide Rigon. His duties will include logging in hours on the simulator and giving feedback on how they can improve the car while also driving for the team during test sessions and jumping into action as an F1 driver, should the need arise.
BREAKING
Arthur Leclerc becomes Scuderia Ferrari development driver! ✨️#ArthurLeclerc pic.twitter.com/ikr1ojctWd
— Arthur Leclerc Fan page (@ALeclercF2_Fan) January 27, 2024
Arthur will jump right into action on Monday with the Ferrari F1-75, given the upcoming two-day track testing of the Pirelli tires for the 2024 season. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will also take part in the testing, but they will pilot the SF-23 from last year.
Through his Instagram post, Arthur Leclerc expressed his happiness in joining the Ferrari outfit, especially alongside his older brother. He claimed it was a dream come true moment for him and admitted to Monday (the first day of the tire test) being a special day in his life as he gets to share a track with his brother for an F1 team.
Arthur Leclerc dreamed of racing Charles Leclerc in F1
As junior drivers making a name for themselves in the lower leagues of the sport, it is a dream to reach the pinnacle of motorsports and drive for a team in F1. For Arthur Leclerc, it was a unique scenario where he not only dreamed of racing in F1 but also racing against his elder brother, who is already a star in the sport. Talking about the same dream over a year ago, the 23-year-old mentioned that while it was a distant dream, he still liked thinking about reaching the pinnacle of motorsports.
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Speaking of the paradoxical nature of racing alongside his brother, Arthur Leclerc mentioned he wouldn’t take it easy on his brother, especially since they have been racing together since their karting days. “We did so many races in karts together! One thing is sure and I know he thinks like me: when we put the helmet on and lower the visor, even Charles is my rival, no more my brother!”
Arthur Leclerc loves driving in Monza and Imola, highlighting his love for Italian tracks while racing for an Italian outfit. He also wants to race in Monaco one day, given it is his home track and the place where Charles Leclerc had his debut race in F1.