A Look At F1 Champion Charles Leclerc’s Racing Career And His Most Remarkable Career Wins
Charles Leclerc is a famous Formula 1 driver who has already made his name on the track. The young racer […]
Monza Staff
Charles Leclerc is a famous Formula 1 driver who has already made his name on the track. The young racer is believed to be ‘destined for greatness’ by the many greats of Formula 1. The man himself justifies it all, and for Leclerc, it all boils down to the sheer talent he possesses.
Background And Early Racing Days
Many people in the world dream of owning a Ferrari at least once in their lifetime, but then there are a few among the entire population who dream of driving a Formula 1 car powered by Ferrari. Charles Leclerc was among the very few chosen ones who demonstrated incredible caliber and passion for Motorsport. He had to endure great difficulties in life and prove his potential time and time again to get to a point where he represented the most prestigious automotive brand on the track. Born on 16th October 1997 in Monaco, Leclerc is currently under contract with Scuderia Ferrari until 2024.
His karting career began way back in 2005. He won the French championships three times in the years 2005, 2006, and 2008. He became the French cadet champion in the year 2009 and was later promoted to the KF3 class of 2010, where he won the Junior Monaco Kart cup.
He continued racing in the KF3 rank and won multiple titles like the FIA karting academy trophy and the FIA world cup. He advanced to the KF2 class in 2012 and won the WSK euro series title. In the final year of his karting career in 2013, he won the winter cup but finished 2nd in the FIA World Championship to Max Verstappen, a fellow driver who he would go on to compete against in the formula one as well.
Throughout his cutting career, Charles Leclerc had a fabulous mentor who also became his father figure and had an inseparable bond with him. The person was none other than Jules Bianchi. In Charles’s last year of karting, Jules signed his first ever contract in Formula 1 with Marussia, and his career was about to take off. 2014 turned out to be another successful year for Charles as he finally moved up the ranks and started racing in the Formula Renault Alps Championship. In this competition, he bagged 7 wins under his name, including a double podium at Monza. He also won the Junior championship in the final race on 5th October 2014.
A Major Setback
Charles Leclerc was having a fabulous run of successive victories, which pushed his ranks in the Motorsport hierarchy, but one tragic news took a heavy toll on him. On lap 43 of the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix, Jules Bianchi horrifically Collided into the side barriers. The marshals rushed toward Jules to ensure he was alright, but since they got no response, he was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he had to undergo many surgeries to stop the cranial bleeding.
In 2015, Charles joined Formula 3, and in the third race, he secured his first podium. As the formula 3 season progressed, the news broke out that Jules Bianchi had lost his life. Charles was heartbroken by this news as Bianchi now needed a miracle to be saved. An incident like this would make many people question their choices to build a career in Formula 1 but not Charles since he continued to march on like a warrior towards his dream of becoming a Formula 1 champion.
Making His Dream A Reality
In the year 2016, Charles joined the GP3 competition and won three feature races in Spain, Austria, and Belgium. He also finished on the podium in Hungary, Silverstone, Malaysia, and Germany. After the final race in Abu Dhabi, he managed to secure the championship and was now promoted to Formula 2. He was racing for Prema, and in this category, he was in a league of his own as he overshadowed every driver on the track. In one of his races in Formula two, he managed to go from 14th position to first in just 8 laps and clinched the victory right on the final lap.
Just a few days before the race in Azerbaijan, he lost his father, who was battling a long-term illness. Despite everything happening in his life, at this point, he still managed to keep his composure and won the race while setting the fastest lap.
Getting To The Top
After his heroics in the karting world and the lower divisions of formula 3 and 2, he was finally called up to Formula 1 racing by Salba. Being a young driver, everyone had high expectations from Charles, and he delivered on every front as he was nearly 0.5 seconds faster than his competitors in qualifying. Currently, Charles Leclerc represents Ferrari and has won 15 races for them, Including 16 pole positions and setting 7 fastest laps and 738 points for the team. He shocked the world when he beat big names to be crowned the champ at the 2022 Austrian GP.
The story of Charles Leclerc is inspiring, and many people often regard him as one of the best and toughest young drivers out there. Still, at the young age of 24, he has a lot to achieve in his Formula 1 career, and there are very few doubts about whether he will be able to do so, thanks to his incredible potential and sheer dedication to the sport.