Nationality: Monégasque
Birthday: 16 October 1997
Current team: Ferrari
Previous teams: Sauber
Number: 16
Strengths: Pure speed, qualifying pace, starts, work ethic
Weaknesses: Wet weather, takes big risks on flying laps, undecisive strategic choices
Strongest tracks: Azerbaijan, Italy, Bahrain
Weakest tracks: Brazil, Hungary, Canada
Statistics
Grand Prix wins: 8
Pole Positions: 27
Fastest laps: 11
Podiums: 51
World Championships: 0
F1 teammate record H2H
Total Q record: 114-59
Total R record: 103-61
| Team mate | Q record | R record |
| Hamilton (2025) | 20-5 | 20-3 |
| Bearman (2024) | 1-0 | 1-0 |
| Sainz (2021-24) | 56-33 | 51-33 |
| Vettel (2019-20) | 24-13 | 19-17 |
| Ericsson (2018) | 12-8 | 12-8 |
Pre-F1 championship results
Won Formula 2 (2017)
Won GP3 (2016)
4th in European F3 (2015)
2nd in Formula Renault 2.0 Alps (2014)
Career analysis
Going through karting and the junior series, it was obvious that Charles Leclerc would become an F1 driver.
After winning the F2 title on his first try in 2017, he entered F1 with Sauber the following year. Leclerc had several impressive races which secured him a fast promotion to Ferrari, where he instantly matched – and later dominated – champion driver Sebastian Vettel.
It seemed like Leclerc would compete for the title in 2022 where Ferrari finally had a top car, but unfortunate strategic decisions and some solo crashes put a stop to Leclerc’s title dreams about halfway through the season.
Since then, Ferrari has only had a top car at times. Things began to look great by the end of 2024, and that season saw Leclerc mature as a driver, especially in terms of his race pace.
But 2025 was a letdown as Ferrari produced their worst car since 2021. Leclerc himself had an excellent year though, extracting maximum value out of the car and decisively beat his new teammate Lewis Hamilton.
There’s no doubt that Charles Leclerc is already one of F1’s fastest-ever drivers over a flying lap. Whether he can make the final step to become a champion and put together a year-long dominant campaign is the big question. If Ferrari delivers a great car, he will almost certainly compete. But in an era where he’s up against the uncompromising Max Verstappen and the lightning-fast Lando Norris, a world championship will require an all-time performance by Leclerc. His best bet is 2026 with the change of regulations. Based on early winter testing, it seems like Ferrari have returned to the front.
