Charles Leclerc is a racing driver from Monaco. He is currently driving for the Scuderia Ferrari team. As of February 8, 2024, he has had 125 entries in F1 and 123 starts. He has won five races and finished on the podium on 30 occasions. Leclerc also has 23 pole positions to his name. The highest he has finished in the championship is second (2022).
Introduction
Charles Leclerc began his racing career as an eight-year-old in karting back in 2005. He competed in karting for nine years before moving to the Formula Renault 2.0 Alps championship in 2014.
He raced in this category for a year before moving to the FIA Formula 3 European Championship with Van Amersfoort Racing. In 2016, Leclerc then moved to the GP3 Series and raced for ART Grand Prix.
After winning the GP3 Series, his first major title, Leclerc moved to Formula 2 with Prema Racing in 2017 and won this championship as well.
| Age | 26 |
| Nationality | Monegasque |
| Height | 5 ft 8 inches |
| Weight | 65 kgs |
| Championship Wins | - |
Charles Leclerc Formula 1 Career (2018-)
A year after winning the F2 title, Charles Leclerc debuted in Formula 1 with the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team. He finished 13th in the championship in 2018 with 39 points.
The Scuderia Ferrari team then signed Leclerc in 2019 as a replacement for 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen. Leclerc continues to race for this team and also signed a
contract extension recently.
Leclerc Ferrari Career (2019-)
Charles Leclerc had a strong start to his Ferrari career. In his debut race at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix, he both qualified and finished in fifth. In his next race in Bahrain, Leclerc qualified on pole, his first in F1. He ended the season fourth in the championship with 264 points and two race wins to his name.
2020 was a disastrous year for Leclerc. He just scored 98 points and finished eighth in the championship. 2021 was not much better either. The Monegasque scored 159 points and finished seventh in the championship.
A year later, Leclerc had his best season in F1. He finished second in the championship in 2022 with 308 points and registered three victories. He lost the title to Max Verstappen by (454) 146 points.
2023 was another disappointing year for Leclerc. He finished fifth in the championship with 206 points and failed to win a race.
Last month, Leclerc signed a new contract extension with Ferrari. Neither he nor did the team specify the
duration of the new deal.
Rivalries
Marcus Erricson
Charles Leclerc and Marcus Erricson were teammates at Alfa Romeo Sauber for only the 2018 season. The two drivers had contrasting campaigns. Leclerc excelled in his rookie season by finishing 13th in the championship with 39 points.
Erricson, on the other hand, finished 17th with nine points. Leclerc's promising drive in his rookie season earned him a call to Ferrari in 2019. Meanwhile, Erricson left Sauber and F1 after 2018.
Sebastian Vettel
In just his second F1 season in 2019, Charles Leclerc joined four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari. The two had their first major battle at the Bahrain Grand Prix that year.
Leclerc qualified on pole and fought Vettel for the lead in the first few laps of the race. A few laps later, Vettel made a mistake and dropped a few places. Leclerc held onto the lead until engine troubles cost him two places. The Monegasque ended up finishing the race in third, while Vettel finished in fifth.
Their first moment of major tension arose at the Brazilian GP the same year. Leclerc and Vettel made contact during the race. As a result, Leclerc ended up retiring from the race due to a puncture. The German too suffered the same fate.
Leclerc ended the 2019 season in fourth with 264 points. He finished ahead of fifth-placed Vettel, who scored 240 points.
In the 2020 season, Leclerc and Vettel collided at the Styrian Grand Prix. The two drivers collided on the first lap of the race, an incident that resulted in both of them retiring.
By the time the 2020 campaign ended,
Leclerc once again finished ahead of Vettel. The Monegasque finished in eighth place and scored 98 points. Meanwhile, Vettel finished 13th and scored 33 points.
Carlos Sainz
With Sebastian Vettel leaving Ferrari for Aston Martin in 2021, Charles Leclerc had a new teammate in Carlos Sainz. The two had a tight battle in the championship that season, with no major incidents on the track.
Leclerc finished seventh in the standings in 2021 with 159 points. Meanwhile, Sainz finished fifth with 164.5 points. This was the first time any of Leclerc's teammates beat the Monegasque over a season.
The rivalry between Leclerc and Sainz was also relatively quiet in 2022. Reliability issues and driver errors caused more trouble for Ferrari than the rivalry between the two teammates. By July 2022,
Leclerc had already lost 75 points from winning positions.
By the time the season ended, Leclerc finished second in the championship with 308 points. Meanwhile, Sainz finished fifth with 246 points.
The rivalry between Sainz and Leclerc in 2023 got more intense. Over the course of the campaign, both drivers exchanged various angry
radio calls. Their anger was directed at the team. At times, both Leclerc and Sainz blamed Ferrari for poor strategic calls. Meanwhile, on other occasions, the duo blamed the team for favoring the other over them.
The first key moment of tension transpired during the 2023 British GP. Sainz attempted a cheeky move over Leclerc during qualifying that could have potentially hampered both their sessions. As a result,
Leclerc was furious.
Tensions then intensified during the
2023 Italian GP. In front of the Tifosi, Leclerc and Sainz battled each other hard for the final podium spot. Ferrari also asked both their drivers on the radio not to take any risks. They both eventually escaped unscathed, with Sainz finishing in third and Leclerc in fourth.
Both drivers were evenly matched by the time the season ended. Leclerc finished fifth in the standings with 206 points. Meanwhile, Sainz finished seventh with 200 points.
Leclerc will continue driving for Ferrari beyond the 2024 season after he recently signed a contract extension. However, he will be joined by Lewis Hamilton in 2025. The Briton will replace Carlos Sainz after recently signing a deal with Ferrari.
