Biography of Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc

While Leclerc’s rise through the junior ranks wasn’t as meteoric as childhood rival Max Verstappen, his accomplishments are all the more remarkable when you factor in the barrage of personal travails he has had to face.

From losing his mentor Jules Bianchi in 2015 and then his father in 2017, Leclerc has had to overcome challenges both on and off track. His standout moment in the junior ranks came when he won the feature race at Baku in his sole Formula 2 campaign after losing his father prior to the start of the weekend. He would then go on to secure the championship, his second consecutive title after winning in GP3 the previous year, before making his Formula 1 debut with Sauber in 2018.

That season was a bit of a renaissance for Sauber after a few years in the doldrums where they consistently finished at the back of the grid. With a best result of sixth at Baku and three consecutive seventh-place finishes to round out the season, Leclerc scored a bulk of the team’s points and comfortably beat his teammate Marcus Ericsson. After scoring a combined total of seven points the previous two years, Sauber scored an improved 48 points in 2018 to finish eighth in the constructors’ standings.

Leclerlc would get the call to take over one of the most prestigious seats in Formula 1 replacing Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari the following year where he partnered four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel. While Leclerc was signed to be the team’s number two driver, what transpired on track was another story.

Early success at Ferrari

After showing glimpses of his pace in Bahrain and Austria, he would go on to claim his first win in F1 at the Belgian Grand Prix making him Ferrari’s youngest winner. Once again he showed great mental fortitude having lost his compatriot and friend, Anthoine Hubert, the previous day. He followed this up by winning at Monza the following weekend, while his teammate had to contend with a lowly 13th place finish after a spin in the early part of the race. Leclerc’s performance at Monza was significant as it underscored his importance to the team’s future.

The weekend at Singapore could have seen Leclerc claim his third win on the trot, however, a timely strategy call from Vettel enabled him to jump ahead of his teammate with the youngster having to settle for second. Leclerc would then claim his fourth consecutive pole position at the Russian Grand Prix, though he would ultimately finish fourth. He ended the season with two wins, eight podiums and seven pole positions.

Prior to the start of the 2020 Formula 1 season Ferrari announced they would not be extending Vettel’s contract. This meant Leclerc would become the team’s de facto number one driver as he is signed to the team till the end of the 2024 season. Despite Ferrari’s subpar 2020 campaign Leclerc managed to secure two podiums in the season opener at Austria and at Silverstone, beating his more illustrious teammate for a second year running.

Thus Leclerc and Ferrari have ample room for improvement in 2021, where he will be joined by new teammate Carlos Sainz who makes the switch from McLaren.

Charles Leclerc in Formula 1

Despite entering only his fourth season in the sport, Leclerc is already beginning to make an impact. He is the youngest ever race winner for Ferrari and will be hoping to break Ferrari’s ongoing 13-year-old drought for a driver’s title.

Leclerc was also the godson of the late Jules Bianchi, who tragically passed away from injuries sustained at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.

Away from the racetrack, Leclerc was announced as a brand ambassador for Giorgio Armani and has had a longstanding endorsement deal with the luxury watchmaker Richard Mille.