As of the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Leclerc has achieved eight race wins, 26 pole positions, 10 fastest laps and 43 podiums in Formula One. Leclerc is contracted to remain at Ferrari until at least the end of the 2026 season.[2] Outside of motor racing, Leclerc collaborated with pianist Sofiane Pamart on the extended playDreamers (2024), which peaked at number two on the BillboardClassical Albums chart.
Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc was born on 16 October 1997 in Monte Carlo, Monaco.[3] Leclerc grew up as the middle child between older half-brother Lorenzo and younger brother Arthur.[4][5] His father, Hervé Leclerc, was a racing driver who competed in Formula Three in the 1980s and 1990s, whilst his mother, Pascale Leclerc, is a former hairdresser.[6] Hervé died after a long illness, aged 54, four days before Leclerc won the feature race at the 2017 Baku Formula 2 round.[7][8] Two days before his death, Leclerc lied to his father that he had signed a Formula One contract for the 2018 season; he signed with Sauber a month later.[9] His older brother, Lorenzo, was best friends with Jules Bianchi, who was Leclerc's godfather until his death in 2015. His younger brother, Arthur, is also a racing driver who has competed in open-wheel and sportscar racing, winning the Formula Regional Asian Championship in 2022.[10]
Leclerc is trilingual, fluent in French, Italian, and English.[11] Although the French pronunciation of his name uses silent final consonants, he has stated that when speaking English he often uses the Anglicised pronunciation. He has said he "likes both", and that others using either pronunciation is acceptable to him.[12] Leclerc has described his religious stance as "[believing] in God, but [not someone] who would pray or go to church".[13]
Since 2023, Leclerc has been in a relationship with Italian model and influencer Alexandra Saint Mleux.[14][15][16]
Junior racing career
Karting (2005–2013)
2005–2010: Success in national championships
Leclerc began his karting career in 2005, winning the French PACA Championship in 2005, 2006, and 2008.[17] In 2009 he became French Cadet champion before moving up to the KF3 class in 2010, where he won the Junior Monaco Kart Cup.[18]
2011–2013: Progression to international series
He continued in the KF3 class for 2011, winning the CIK-FIA KF3 World Cup, the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy and the ERDF Junior Kart Masters.[19] During the year, Leclerc also became a member of Nicolas Todt's All Road Management company.[20] Leclerc graduated to the KF2 category in 2012 with the factory-backedART Grand Prix team, winning the WSK Euro Series title,[21] as well as finishing runner-up in the CIK-FIA European KF2 Championship and the CIK-FIA Under 18 World Karting Championship.[22] In his final year of karting in 2013, Leclerc won the South Garda Winter Cup and claimed sixth position in the CIK-FIA European KZ Championship and finished second in the CIK-FIA World KZ Championship, behind current Red BullFormula One driver Max Verstappen.[23]
Leclerc also took part in a partial Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season with Fortec as a guest driver. In the six races he contested he finished on the podium three times, taking a second place at the Nürburgring followed by a pair of second-place finishes at the Hungaroring.[28]
Leclerc graduated to Formula Three in 2015, racing in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship with Dutch team Van Amersfoort Racing.[29] At the opening round of the season in Silverstone, Leclerc inherited pole position for the second and third races of the weekend after original pole-sitter Felix Rosenqvist was excluded for a technical infringement.[30] He went on to take his first race victory in the third race of the weekend, ahead of Antonio Giovinazzi and Jake Dennis.[31] He took his second victory at the following round in Hockenheim, winning the third race as well as taking two additional podiums and three rookie victories over the course of the event.[32] Leclerc scored his third win in the first race at Spa-Francorchamps which saw him take the lead in the championship. However, Leclerc finished fourth in the standings, mostly due to damage sustained to his car's chassis following a collision with Lance Stroll at Zandvoort.[citation needed]
Macau Grand Prix
Following his GP3 campaign, Leclerc entered the Macau Grand Prix with Van Amersfoort.[33] After qualifying third,[34] Leclerc finished second to Felix Rosenqvist in the qualification race after a penalty for Antonio Giovinazzi, which set the grid for the main race.[35][36] Leclerc again finished second to Rosenqvist in the Grand Prix, following a race-long battle.[37][38]
2016: GP3 Series
In December 2015, Leclerc partook in post-season testing with ART Grand Prix and Arden International. In February 2016, de Vries confirmed that Leclerc would race in the 2016 GP3 season.[39] ART signed Leclerc the following week. With the team, he claimed three victories and took the title in his first year of the series, despite crashing out in the feature race of the season's final race in Abu Dhabi.[40]
Following his GP3 title victory, Leclerc progressed to FIA Formula 2 with Prema for its inaugural 2017 season, alongside fellow Ferrari Driver Academy member Antonio Fuoco.[41] Debuting at Sakhir, Leclerc took pole position for the feature race, where he finished third.[42] In the reverse-grid sprint race,[c] he opted for a mid-race pit stop—an uncommon practise in sprints—after creating a nine-second lead; Leclerc proceeded to overtake 13 drivers in nine laps to secure his maiden F2 victory.[44][45] He took pole again in Barcelona, holding off Luca Ghiotto to win his first feature amidst a radio issue, before finishing fourth in the sprint.[46][47] Leclerc retired from both races at his home round in Monte Carlo after qualifying on pole, suffering suspension failure in the feature and collision damage with Norman Nato in the sprint.[48][49] Whilst retaining his championship lead, he described the weekend as "hugely disappointing".[50] Leclerc dedicated his pole in Baku to his recently-deceased father Hervé,[8] before converting it to victory in the feature and second-place in the sprint, losing the win to Nato at the latter following a 10-second time penalty for ignoring yellow flags.[51][52] He won the Spielberg feature from pole, holding off teammate Fuoco and the DAMS of Nicholas Latifi.[53] Leclerc collided with the former in the sprint, reducing his championship lead over Oliver Rowland to 49 points midway through the season.[54]
Leclerc dominated F2 in his rookie season, taking a joint-record seven victories and clinching the championship in Jerez, aged 19.
Leclerc achieved a record-equalling sixth consecutive pole at Silverstone,[d] winning the feature amidst multiple reliability issues, including his brakes and exhaust setting on fire.[57][58] He was disqualified from pole in Budapest for a technical infringement,[59] finishing fourth in the feature and sprint after starting the former in last-place, albeit behind title rival Rowland in both.[60][61] Leclerc returned to pole at Spa-Francorchamps,[62] but was disqualified from his 25-second winning margin in the feature due to excessive skid block wear.[63][64] Leclerc recovered to fifth after starting nineteenth in the sprint.[65] Whilst battling for the lead of the Monza feature with Nyck de Vries, the pair collided on the final lap following a late-race safety car, condemning both drivers to finish outside the points.[66][67] With a 59-point margin over Rowland heading into the penultimate round at Jerez, Leclerc required pole position and victory to clinch the title in the feature;[68] after achieving his eighth pole of the season,[69] he held off a late charge by Rowland to become the then-youngest GP2/Formula 2 champion—aged 19 years, 356 days—as well as the third rookie champion after Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Nico Hülkenberg.[70][71][72] At the season-ending Yas Island round, Leclerc inherited second-place in the feature after disqualifications for Rowland and teammate Fuoco.[73] Starting seventh for the sprint, he overtook Alexander Albon on the final lap to secure his record-equalling seventh victory of the season.[74][75][76] Leclerc was named FIA Rookie of the Year for his efforts in 2017,[77] achieving seven wins from 10 podiums and eight pole positions, finishing 72 points ahead of eventual runner-up Artem Markelov.[78]
Leclerc completed four sessions with Sauber in 2017, as well as the mid-season test with Ferrari.
Leclerc took part in the 2017 mid-season test at the Hungaroring with Ferrari—driving the SF70H—completing 98 laps and setting the fastest lap of the first day.[83][84]Kimi Räikkönen praised his performance, stating that "it's not easy to do well in a different car from what you normally drive", adding that "for sure he will do great things in the future".[85] Leclerc completed further free practice sessions with Sauber at the Malaysian, United States, Mexican and Brazilian Grands Prix, after signing with the team for 2018.[citation needed]
Leclerc moved to Ferrari in 2019, his second season in Formula One.
Leclerc signed for Ferrari in 2019, swapping seats with Kimi Räikkönen to partner four-time World Drivers' Champion Sebastian Vettel.[93][94] Then-team principal Maurizio Arrivabene stated that his contract would run until 2022.[95] Leclerc entered the 2018 post-season test with Ferrari at Yas Marina, setting the fastest time in the SF71H.[96] He debuted for the team at the Australian Grand Prix, qualifying and finishing fifth.[citation needed] At the following round in Bahrain, Leclerc took his maiden pole position to become the second-youngest polesitter in Formula One history.[97][98] He led the majority of the race before losing the lead with 10 laps remaining amidst an engine issue, overtaken by both Mercedes drivers;[citation needed] he finished third after a late-race safety car, securing his maiden podium finish.[99] Leclerc qualified fourth at the Chinese Grand Prix and overtook Vettel at the start, before being ordered to let him pass and ultimately finishing fifth.[100] In Azerbaijan, Leclerc crashed out of the second qualifying session, forcing him to start eighth; he finished the race in fifth.[101] He again finished fifth at the Spanish Grand Prix.[citation needed] At his first Monaco Grand Prix with Ferrari, he started fifteenth following a strategic error from the team in the first qualifying session.[citation needed] He suffered a tyre puncture and floor damage after an overtake attempt on Nico Hülkenberg, leading to his second retirement at his home race.[citation needed] Leclerc qualified and finished third at both the Canadian and French Grands Prix.[citation needed][citation needed] He took pole at the Austrian Grand Prix, finishing second to Max Verstappen after an overtake on the antepenultimate lap, during which they made contact—the stewards' investigation deemed it a racing incident.[102][103] At the British Grand Prix, Leclerc qualified third ahead of Verstappen.[104] The pair engaged in a close battle throughout the race, with Leclerc finishing ahead in third to secure his fourth consecutive podium.[105][106] He qualified in tenth-place at the German Grand Prix amidst a fuel system issue.[107] In the rain-affected race, he climbed to fourth in the early laps before being called in for dry tyres too early, causing him to lose traction and retire from the race after colliding with the barriers on lap 29.[108]
Leclerc (right) won the Italian Grand Prix amidst a battle with Lewis Hamilton(left), which saw him nicknamed il Predestinato in Italian media.
New regulations utilising ground effect saw Ferrari challenge Red Bull in the first half of 2022.[citation needed] Leclerc qualified on pole position for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix,[135] before winning the race amidst a close battle with Max Verstappen, marking his and Ferrari's first victory since 2019.[136] The result saw him lead the World Drivers' Championship for the first time, becoming the first Monégasque driver to do so.[137] After finishing second to Verstappen in another close-fought battle in Saudi Arabia, Leclerc took a dominant victory from pole at the Australian Grand Prix, achieving his maiden grand slam in Formula One and extending his championship lead to 34 points over George Russell, 46 ahead of Verstappen in sixth.[138][139] Following another battle with Verstappen in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix sprint, Leclerc spun at the Variante Altachicane whilst chasing Sergio Pérez for second-place in the main race, demoting him to sixth and reducing his advantage over Verstappen to 26 points.[citation needed] He finished second to Verstappen after starting on pole at the Miami Grand Prix.[citation needed] In Spain, Leclerc took pole again and led the race with a 13-second margin until a power unit failure forced his retirement,[140] handing Verstappen the victory and championship lead.[citation needed] After taking another pole at the Monaco Grand Prix, Leclerc finished fourth due to a strategical error in wet-weather conditions.[141] He took his fourth-successive pole at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where he again retired from the lead with a power unit issue, placing him third in the standings behind Pérez.[142] Leclerc started nineteenth for the Canadian Grand Prix due to an engine grid penalty; he recovered to fifth.[143]
Leclerc (pictured at the Austrian Grand Prix) achieved three victories as he finished runner-up in the World Drivers' Championship to Max Verstappen.
At the British Grand Prix, Leclerc finished fourth after losing out on a free pit stop under the safety car to his teammate, Carlos Sainz Jr.[144] He then took victory at the Austrian Grand Prix after a battle with Verstappen, returning to second in the standings halfway through the season.[145] Leclerc started on pole in France before spinning out of the lead on lap 18 and colliding with a barrier.[146] At the Hungarian Grand Prix, he qualified third and finished sixth after another strategic error by Ferrari put him on underperforming hard-compound tyres;[147] Verstappen won the race and extended his advantage over Leclerc to 80 points going into the summer break.[citation needed] Leclerc started fifteenth following a grid penalty at the Belgian Grand Prix,[148] where he recovered to fifth, demoted to sixth after a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane.[149] Prior to the Dutch Grand Prix, he admitted that he had "stopped counting" his points deficit to Verstappen.[150] He took five consecutive podiums from there until the United States Grand Prix,[citation needed] including second-placed finishes from pole in Italy and Singapore;[citation needed][151] Verstappen clinched the title in Japan.[citation needed] Leclerc finished sixth and fourth at the Mexico City and São Paulo Grands Prix, respectively,[citation needed][citation needed] leaving him tied-second in the championship with Pérez on 290 points going into the final round.[citation needed] Leclerc qualified third for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix behind Pérez, before overtaking him with a one-stop strategy and clinching second in the World Drivers' Championship.[citation needed] He totalled 308 points throughout the season, 146 behind Verstappen and 62 ahead of teammate Sainz in fifth.[citation needed]
During the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix, the first race of 2023 Formula One World Championship, Leclerc's car suffered technical problems, forcing the driver to end the race prematurely during lap 41 while on course for a third-place finish.[152] The following race, at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Leclerc took a ten-place grid penalty after a new set of control electronics was installed on his car in breach of the allowed quota for the season. Starting from 12th on the grid, Leclerc was able to recover to a seventh-place finish behind his teammate Carlos Sainz.[153] Leclerc retired for the second time in three races following a lap 1 collision with Lance Stroll at the Australian Grand Prix.[154] Leclerc scored his and Ferrari's first pole position of the 2023 season at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, though he failed to convert it to a victory as Sergio Pérez took victory in both the sprint and main race. However, he was on the podium during both races.[155]
In the Miami Grand Prix, Leclerc started seventh after crashing during Q3. He finished the race in the same position to cap off a frustrating weekend.[citation needed] In his home event the Monaco Grand Prix, he qualified third but started sixth after being given a three-place grid penalty for impeding Lando Norris during Q3. In the race, he finished sixth.[citation needed] In Spain, he qualified nineteenth and started the race from the pitlane. He would go on to finish eleventh in the race.[citation needed] In Canada Leclerc qualified eleventh and started tenth. His team opted not to pit during a safety car which left Leclerc and Sainz in fourth and fifth position respectively. The gamble would pay off, with both drivers building enough of a gap to those behind them to make a pit stop and rejoin in the same positions. Leclerc would finished the race fourth, less than five seconds shy of third-placed Hamilton.[citation needed] In Austria he started behind Verstappen on the front-row. Leclerc meanwhile qualified sixth for the sprint before penalties were applied that dropped him down to ninth. Leclerc finished twelfth in the sprint. During the main race, Leclerc remained behind Verstappen for a majority of the race before Verstappen had his mandatory stop on lap 24, which Leclerc was able to capitalise upon. This allowed him to lead a race, his first since Azerbaijan. Over the next nine laps, Verstappen would close up to him and overtake him with DRS. Leclerc would finish second in the race.[citation needed]
Leclerc achieved his third podium finish of the season in the main race at the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix, after taking pole position in qualifying. He also achieved another pole position at the 2023 United States Grand Prix, however he finished 6th in the main race before being disqualified along with Lewis Hamilton due to their cars having excessive wear on their skid blocks.[156] In the following race at Mexico City, Ferrari locked out the front row in qualifying with Leclerc starting on pole. However, in the first corner of the race, Leclerc and Pérez collided, ending the race of the latter. Nevertheless, Leclerc finished third.
The following weekend in São Paulo, Leclerc again qualified on the front row, behind polesitter Max Verstappen. He crashed out on the formation lap of the race after suffering a hydraulics issue at Ferradura, the same corner in which he crashed in the previous year's edition of the race.[157]
He managed to secure fifth-place in the championship, although Sainz achieved Ferrari's only win of the year at the Singapore Grand Prix, marking the only non-Red Bull win of the 22-race season.[158]
Ahead of the 2024 season, Leclerc opted to extend his contract with Ferrari.[2] The length of the contract was not specified, although the press release published by Ferrari stated the deal would see Leclerc "wearing the Scuderia Ferrari race suit for several more seasons to come".[159]
Leclerc finished fourth in the season opener after a battle with teammate Sainz. He achieved his first podium of the season in Jeddah while Ferrari junior and Formula 2 driver Oliver Bearman substituted for Sainz, the latter going into surgery due to appendicitis. Leclerc finished second in the Australian Grand Prix to teammate, Sainz to complete a Ferrari 1-2 finish, their first since Bahrain in 2022. Leclerc picked up his third and fourth podium of the season in Miami and Imola, finishing third on both occasions.[160][161]
Leclerc won the Monaco Grand Prix, his home race, for the first time ever, from pole position. He became the first Monégasque to win the Monaco Grand Prix since Louis Chiron in 1931, and for the first time since the event became part of the Formula One World Championship.[162] It was his sixth career win to date.[163] At the following race in Canada, he and Sainz were both knocked out in Q2. Both drivers failed to finish for the first time this season, with Ferrari recording their first double retirement since the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.[164]
After a run of four disappointing races including finishing out of the points in Austria and Silverstone, Leclerc qualified 2nd at the Belgian Grand Prix but was promoted to pole position due to Max Verstappen getting a 10 place engine penalty.[165] Leclerc would lose the lead to Lewis Hamilton on lap 2 and despite a decent drive he would finish 4th behind winner George Russell, Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri.[166] However, after the race, Russell was disqualified for having an underweight car, promoting Leclerc to third which marked his first podium since his win at the Monaco Grand Prix.[167]
After salvaging a mediocre qualifying result by taking a podium at the Dutch Grand Prix having completed a one-stop strategy,[168] Leclerc won the 2024 Italian Grand Prix after managing to complete a one-pit stop strategy for the race, marking Ferrari's first home win since Leclerc won in 2019.[169] Leclerc qualified first at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and was leading the race during the first stint, but Piastri overtook him with the help of DRS and Leclerc ended the race in second place.[170] In the Singapore Grand Prix, Leclerc secured 5th place behind Mercedes driver George Russell. The next race secured Leclerc's third win of the year in the United States Grand Prix after a dramatic fight between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen letting Leclerc through and securing a 1-2 finish for Ferrari in Austin. The Mexico City Grand Prix continued Ferrari's winning streak as they scored a 1-3 in Mexico with Leclerc finishing third. The next race in São Paulo was disappointing for Ferrari as Leclerc finished fifth but his teammate Sainz failed to finish due to his crash in the second sector.
Leclerc has a strong record of qualifying on pole positions, and currently holds the record for achieving the highest tally of pole positions without winning a World Championship. His driving style tends to favour a car with more oversteer and throughout his career his one lap pace has outperformed his race pace. He became the youngest recipient of the FIA pole position trophy for the most qualifying poles in the 2019 season.[172]
Other ventures
Film and television
Leclerc made an appearance in the film Le Grand Rendez-vous, a remake of the 1976 French short film C'était un rendez-vous.[173][174] Leclerc voiced a character in the Italian-language dubbed version of Pixar's Toy Story spin-off film Lightyear (2022).[175]
In April 2023, Leclerc released his debut piano-composed single "AUS23 (1:1)", whose title is a reference to Ferrari's internal name for the 2023 Australian Grand Prix. His musical endeavours are managed by Verdigris Management.[182]
Endorsements
In 2020, Leclerc became an endorsement model for Giorgio Armani.[183] In April 2024, Leclerc launched an eponymous ice cream brand called LEC, a reference to his three-letter code on Formula One television graphics.[184]
† Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance. ‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.
^Including most wins in a season (7, shared with Stoffel Vandoorne and George Russell), most pole positions in a season (8), most consecutive pole positions (6), and then-youngest champion (19 years, 356 days).
^Beretta was the last Monégasque national to compete in Formula One;[citation needed] Dutch driver Robert Doornbos competed under a Monégasque licence in 2005.[87]
References
^"F1: Ferrari anuncia extensão de contrato de Leclerc" [Ferrari announces Leclerc contract extension, but makes mystery about the length of new deal]. motorsport.uol.com.br (in Portuguese). 25 January 2024. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
^"De Vries joins 2016 GP3 field with ART". 24 February 2016. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2016. We have Charles Leclerc, Alexander Albon [neither confirmed yet], Jake Hughes, Jack Aitken and Kevin Jorg lining up on the grid and Antonio Fuoco is staying for another season. All these guys are capable of winning races
^Admin (6 September 2018). "Confartigianato motori 2018 awards". APA Confartigianato Imprese Milano Monza e Brianza (in Italian). Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
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