Charles Leclerc

Bio

Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc was born on October 16, 1997, in Monte Carlo, Monaco. He began karting at the age of four, mentored by his father Hervé and inspired by his godfather Jules Bianchi, who was also his early racing mentor. Leclerc's karting career was highly successful, winning multiple European and world championships. Leclerc's single-seater career began in earnest in 2014 when he competed in Formula Renault 2.0 Alps, finishing second. He moved to the FIA Formula 3 European Championship in 2015, showing flashes of speed before stepping up to GP3 Series in 2016, where he won the championship with ART Grand Prix. In 2017, he dominated the FIA Formula 2 Championship with Prema Racing, winning the title with a combination of devastating qualifying pace and mature race management. Tragedy struck throughout Leclerc's formative years. His mentor and godfather Jules Bianchi passed away in 2015 from injuries sustained in the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix crash. Then in 2017, just days before the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, Leclerc's father Hervé passed away. Despite this profound loss, Leclerc raced that weekend, qualifying in pole position in F2 and dedicating the result to his father. Leclerc made his F1 debut with Sauber in 2018 as part of the Ferrari Driver Academy. Despite the uncompetitive car, he delivered stunning performances that earned him a promotion to the Ferrari works team for 2019 — replacing Kimi Räikkönen. In his first season at Ferrari, he immediately outperformed four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, winning two races at Spa and Monza and regularly qualifying on the front row. The 2020 and 2021 seasons were difficult as Ferrari rebuilt after the engine controversy, but Leclerc continued to drag the car to results beyond its capabilities. The 2022 season started brilliantly — Leclerc won two of the first three races and led the championship — but a combination of Ferrari strategy errors, mechanical failures, and his own driving mistakes saw him fade, with Verstappen eventually running away with the title. Leclerc's qualifying ability is legendary — his pole positions at circuits like Singapore, Baku, and his emotional home victory at the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix (after multiple heartbreaks there) are among the sport's most memorable moments. The partnership with Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari from 2025 onward marks an exciting new chapter, pairing two of the sport's most talented drivers in the iconic red car. Despite the championship still eluding him, Leclerc remains one of the most talented and passionate drivers of his generation, and his emotional connection with the tifosi makes him the heart of Scuderia Ferrari.