Charles Leclerc

Charles Leclerc, born on 16 October 1997 in Monte Carlo, first sat in a kart at around the age of three, at the track run by the Bianchi family in Brignoles. His godfather Jules Bianchi, himself a Formula 1 driver who died in 2015 from the effects of a racing accident, played a key role in introducing Leclerc to his current manager, Nicolas Todt. In 2010 he became the youngest ever winner of the Monaco Kart Cup, and in 2011 he won the CIK-FIA World Cup.

Via Formula 3 (2015) and the GP3 Series (champion in 2016), Leclerc won Formula 2 in his rookie season in 2017, including a double win in Baku just days after the death of his father Hervé, who had himself raced in Formula 3 in the 1980s. He made his Formula 1 debut for Sauber in 2018, moved to Ferrari in 2019 and took his first race win in just his debut season at the Belgian Grand Prix.

In 2022 he finished runner-up in the championship behind Max Verstappen, his best result to date. In 2024 he won the Monaco Grand Prix, the first home win for a Monegasque driver in 93 years, an achievement he himself described as a childhood dream.

The 2025 season alongside Lewis Hamilton proved difficult for Ferrari, though Leclerc still finished it as the team’s clear number one, fifth in the championship. Ahead of the 2026 season he extended his contract to at least 2028. He chose car number 16 after his date of birth, since the digits also add up to seven, his originally preferred number. His younger brother Arthur is also a racing driver.