Charles Leclerc: Profile, Championships, Racing Style & more

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc made his debut for Sauber in 2018 and has established himself as one of the sport's finest drivers.

He has won eight races in his career and heads into 2025 looking to claim his maiden world title.

Date of Birth	16th October 1997
Current team	Ferrari
Previous team(s)	Sauber
F1 Debut	2018 Australian Grand Prix
F1 World Championships	None (Best finish 2nd in 2022)

Charles Leclerc's career so far

Biography

Charles Leclerc was born and grew up in the famous F1 venue of Monte Carlo. His father, Herve Leclerc, is a former Formula 3 driver and Charles began karting in 2005, showing a natural talent.

His brother Arthur is also a racing driver and took part in the free practice session at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Journey to F1

Charles Leclerc won the French cadet karting championship in 2009, the KF3 World Cup in 2011 and finished second in the world championship behind Max Verstappen in 2013. 

He went into single-seater car racing in 2014 in Formula Renault but soon moved up to Formula 3, finishing fourth in the European championship in 2015. 

Leclerc then won back-to-back titles in F1 feeder series, becoming GP3 champion in 2016 and Formula 2 champion in 2017, earning him a move to F1.

F1 career to date

Sauber

Leclerc had been part of the Ferrari Driver Academy since 2016 and was loaned out to the Ferrari-powered Sauber team for his F1 debut in 2018.

Partnering Swede Marcus Ericcson, he finished 13th on his debut and was also 13th in the championship standings with 39 points and a best finish of sixth place in Azerbaijan, earning him the Rookie of the Year award.

Ferrari

Leclerc was promoted to the Ferrari team in 2019, replacing former world champion Kimi Raikkonen alongside another champion, Sebastian Vettel.

The Monegasque driver finished on the podium in his second race in Bahrain and took his first race win in Belgium, before following up in the next round at Monza. He finished fourth in the championship that year, but second place in the season-opener in Austria was his best result of 2020, when he finished eighth.

Leclerc was seventh in 2021 before making a world championship challenge in 2022 and finishing as runner-up to Verstappen with three wins. 2023 was a winless campaign, but Ferrari improved again in 2024 and Leclerc won his home race in Monaco plus two others to come third in the championship.

The 2025 season promises to tell us plenty about Leclerc's true potential as he is joined at Ferrari by seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton.

Charles Leclerc best races

Leclerc had two excellent wins in the 2022 season, winning both the Bahrain Grand Prix and the Australian Grand Prix after battling on the track with world champion Max Verstappen and coming out on top.

The two most special wins for Leclerc may well be his emotional Monaco success last season, along with winning in a Ferrari at Monza last September. His US Grand Prix success in 2024 was also impressive as he started only fourth on the grid but led home a Ferrari one-two-finish with Carlos Sainz Jr.

Charles Leclerc best season

Leclerc was runner-up in the 2022 world championship with 308 points, but scored 356 when finishing third in 2024.

Charles Leclerc nationality 

Where is Charles Leclerc from?

Leclerc was born in Monte Carlo, Monaco.

Charles Leclerc net worth

Estimates of Charles Leclerc's net worth vary, but range between £40 million and £100 million.

Charles Leclerc racing style

Leclerc has an aggressive racing style and is a strong qualifier, with 26 pole positions, the most of any driver yet to win a world championship.

His precision and daring style make him one of the fastest drivers over one lap, but he is not as forgiving to his tyres as some rivals and his race pace can be affected as a result.

He has pulled off some memorable overtaking moves and has overcome a period early in his career when he made a series of avoidable mistakes.

Thoughts on Charles Leclerc

People tended to say to me that he's nowhere near as good in the race as he is in qualifying. That's not really fair. It's just that he's very, very good at qualifying.

Jock Clear - Leclerc's driver coach

Charles has been the project of Ferrari ever since he's been a junior driver. He's been the centre of the project for many years. So I understood I had to be, in a way, the one being replaced.

Former team-mate Carlos Sainz

Gilles (Villeneuve) was fantastic. It really was his way of driving, his way of behaving and his passion. I think Charles has got that.

Former Ferrari chief Mattia Binotto