Charles Leclerc

Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc (French pronunciation: [ʃaʁl ləklɛʁ]; born 16 October 1997) is a Monégasque racing driver, who competes in Formula One for Ferrari.

Following five pole positions and six podiums in his 2023 campaign, Leclerc won the Monaco Grand Prix in 2024, becoming the first Monégasque driver to win the race in 93 years; he achieved further victories in Italy and the United States as he finished third in the championship.

[1] Outside of motor racing, Leclerc collaborated with pianist Sofiane Pamart on the extended play Dreamers (2024), which peaked at number two on the Billboard Classical Albums chart.

[13][14] In June 2024, Leclerc served as a torchbearer for the Monégasque leg ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, alongside Alexandra Coletti, Xiaoxin Yang, Rudy Rinaldi, Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene.

[28] 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.

[39] 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] 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.

[45][46] 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.

[49] Leclerc dedicated his pole in Baku to his recently-deceased father Hervé,[7] 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.

[53] 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.

[64] 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.

[73][74][75] Leclerc was named FIA Rookie of the Year for his efforts in 2017,[76] achieving seven wins from 10 podiums and eight pole positions, finishing 72 points ahead of eventual runner-up Artem Markelov.

[97] At his first home Grand Prix in Monaco, Leclerc suffered a brake failure in the closing laps, colliding with the diffuser of Brendon Hartley into the Nouvelle Chicane and forcing his first career retirement.

[105][106] Further points finishes came with ninth- and seventh-place at the Singapore and Russian Grands Prix, respectively,[107] before retirements from a mechanical failure in Japan and damage from a collision with Romain Grosjean in the United States.

[169] Leclerc finished the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in third-place,[170] clinching fourth in the World Drivers' Championship with 264 points, 24 ahead of teammate Vettel in fifth.

[198][199] At the Italian Grand Prix, he qualified thirteenth before colliding with a tyre barrier at the Curva Parabolica and causing a red flag whilst running in fourth.

[211] He ended the season eighth in the standings with two podiums and 98 points, 65 ahead of teammate Vettel in thirteenth,[211] as Ferrari finished sixth in the World Constructors' Championship—their lowest since 1980.

[229][230] At the British Grand Prix, Leclerc qualified fourth before inheriting the lead on the first lap: he overtook Bottas off-the-line before passing both Max Verstappen and Hamilton after their collision.

[250][251][252] Leclerc qualified on pole position for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, before winning the race amidst a close battle with Max Verstappen,[253] marking his and Ferrari's first victory since 2019.

[263] In Spain, Leclerc took pole again and led the race with a 13-second margin until a power unit failure forced his retirement,[264] handing Verstappen the victory and championship lead.

[273] Ferrari struggled to match the performance of Red Bull from the French Grand Prix onwards,[274] where Leclerc started on pole before spinning out of the lead on lap 18 and colliding with a barrier.

[275] In Hungary, he qualified third and finished sixth after another strategic error by Ferrari put him on underperforming hard-compound tyres; Verstappen won the race and extended his advantage over Leclerc to 80 points going into the summer break.

[285] Leclerc finished sixth and fourth at the Mexico City and São Paulo Grands Prix, respectively—after a collision with Lando Norris at the latter—leaving him tied-second in the championship with Pérez on 290 points going into the final round.

[327] He finished second again in Abu Dhabi,[328] elevating him to fifth in the World Drivers' Championship on 206 points, level with Fernando Alonso in fourth,[g] and six ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. in seventh.

[1] Red Bull remained the front-runners going into the season-opener,[331][332] where Leclerc vowed he would do "absolutely everything" to contend;[333] he qualified on the front-row, and finished fourth amidst brake issues.

[363][364] He finished the season third in the championship on 356 points—81 behind champion Verstappen, 18 behind Norris, and 66 ahead of teammate Sainz in fifth;[365][366] he outscored the rest of the field from the summer break onwards,[364] and achieved three victories from 13 podiums.

[388] Alex Kalinauckas of Autosport lauded his racecraft after the 2024 season, highlighting several instances of his defensive driving against faster machinery, as well as an overtake on George Russell at the Chinese Grand Prix.

[396] Leclerc starred in Claude Lelouch's Le Grand Rendez-vous (2020)—a remake of the 1976 French short film C'était un rendez-vous—where he lapped the Circuit de Monaco in a Ferrari SF90 Stradale.

[397] In partnership with Ferrari, Leclerc made his voice acting debut in the Italian-language version of Pixar's Toy Story animated spin-off film Lightyear (2022).

2005  N. Rosberg 2006  L. Hamilton 2007  T. Glock 2008  G. Pantano 2009  N. Hülkenberg 2010  P. Maldonado 2011  R. Grosjean 2012  D. Valsecchi 2013  F. Leimer 2014  J. Palmer 2015  S. Vandoorne 2016  P. Gasly 2017  C. Leclerc 2018  G. Russell 2019  N. de Vries 2020  M. Schumacher 2021  O. Piastri 2022  F. Drugovich 2023  T. Pourchaire 2024  G. Bortoleto

Leclerc holds his trophy after winning the FIA Formula 2 Championship, with his arm around his mother
Leclerc (left) with his mother, Pascale, after winning the 2017 FIA Formula 2 Championship
Leclerc looking out of his Dallara GP2/11 with his visor raised before the 2017 Monza Formula 2 round
Leclerc (pictured at Monza ) graduated to FIA Formula 2 with Prema in 2017 .
Charles Leclerc crossing the start/finish line during the 2017 Jerez Formula 2 round
Leclerc dominated F2 in his rookie season, taking a joint-record seven victories and clinching the championship in Jerez , aged 19.
Leclerc driving the Haas VF-16 in free practice at the 2016 British Grand Prix, ahead of Felipe Massa
Leclerc (left) joined the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2016 , completing four free practice sessions with Haas .
Leclerc driving the Sauber C36 in free practice at the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix
Leclerc completed four sessions with Sauber in 2017 , as well as the mid-season test with Ferrari .
Leclerc driving the Sauber C37 at the 2018 Chinese Grand Prix
Leclerc (pictured at the Chinese Grand Prix ) debuted in Formula One with Sauber in 2018 .
Leclerc driving the Ferrari SF90 at 2019 Formula One pre-season testing
Leclerc moved to Ferrari in 2019 , his second season in Formula One.
Leclerc racing against Lewis Hamilton at the 2019 Italian Grand Prix, with dirt being kicked up by Hamilton's tyres, who is partially off-track
Leclerc (right) won the Italian Grand Prix amidst a battle with Lewis Hamilton (left) , which saw him nicknamed il Predestinato in Italian media.
From above, Leclerc parked in the pit lane, with mechanics putting tyre blankets on his Ferrari SF1000 at 2020 Formula One pre-season testing
Leclerc (pictured at pre-season testing ) achieved two podiums in 2020 , driving the SF1000 .
Leclerc driving the Ferrari SF21 at the 2021 British Grand Prix
Leclerc (pictured at the British Grand Prix ) qualified on pole position at the Monaco and Azerbaijan Grands Prix in 2021 .
Leclerc driving the Ferrari F1-75 at the 2022 Australian Grand Prix
In 2022 , Leclerc achieved his maiden career grand slam at the Australian Grand Prix (pictured) and led the championship until his retirement at the Spanish Grand Prix .
Leclerc lifting his trophy on the podium after winning the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix
Leclerc (pictured at the Austrian Grand Prix ) achieved three victories as he finished runner-up in the World Drivers' Championship to Max Verstappen .
Leclerc driving the Ferrari SF-23 at the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix
Leclerc (pictured at the Austrian Grand Prix ) achieved five pole positions and six podium finishes in 2023 .
Leclerc driving the Ferrari SF-24 at the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix
Leclerc (pictured at the Dutch Grand Prix ) won three Grands Prix from 13 podiums in 2024 , including the Monaco Grand Prix .
Leclerc racing against Lewis Hamilton at the 2022 British Grand Prix
Leclerc (back) racing against Lewis Hamilton (front) at the 2022 British Grand Prix
From above, Leclerc sat in the cockpit of his Ferrari SF1000 at 2020 Formula One pre-season testing
Leclerc's 2020 helmet design featured the flag of Monaco surrounded by his logo in rosso corsa .
Leclerc signing a fan's autograph book at the 2018 British Grand Prix
Leclerc with a fan at the 2018 British Grand Prix
Leclerc sitting on the back of a black convertible before the 2022 French Grand Prix
Leclerc before the 2022 French Grand Prix