Friday Feature – Spotlight: Charles Leclerc – F1 Driver for Ferrari

Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc (known better as Charles Leclerc) was born on October 16, 1997 in Monte Carlo, Monaco. His parents, Hervé Leclerc and Pascale Leclerc had three kids; Charles, Arthur, and Lorenzo, with Charles being the middle child. Growing up in Monaco really was the birthplace of his passion, as it is considered to be known for its motorsport culture. His father also had a pretty big influence on Charles’ career choice as well, as he was a former racing driver for both Formula 2 and Formula 3 from the 80s and 90s. Sadly, he passed away in 2017 at the age of 54 after battling a long illness. 

Charles always had a very good relationship with both his parents. His mother, a hairdresser, supported her son and was often seen cheering him on in the sidelines during races. From a very young age, believe it or not, primary school days, Charles had an interest in motorsport – which started out as an interest in karting, and of course he was a natural at it. Him and his father would spend hours at the go-kart track of Brignoles where he drove his very first go-kart. It wasn’t long from here that Charles started gaining awards in this sport, securing championship titles and trophies between 2009 and 2013. 

Did you Know: Hervé Leclerc was the founder of the French automotive parts manufacturer Mecaplast?  

The following year, 2014, was actually when Leclerc made his debut in Formula Racing. He gained his first junior championship title at the Formula Renault 2.0 Alps championship racing for Fortec Motorsports. Of course, his talent couldn’t go unnoticed, and he was signed by the Ferrari Driver Academy – a prestigious driver development program. Over the years, he continued to build his way up the racing pole, even gaining the Formula 2 champion title. Now for those who don’t know much about Formula racing, Formula 2 is similar to Formula 1 however all the cars are identical and less powerful than Formula 1 cars. In 2017, at the age of 20, Leclerc received the FIA Formula 2 Championship title with a series of wins, showing he was indeed ready for more, including taking on the Formula 1 racetrack. 

It is important to note, that although one doesn’t need to study any particular subject in school to qualify to become a racecar driver, Leclerc did go through schooling previous to his acceptance into the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2016. All of his schooling was in Monaco – attending École de Fontvieille (Fontvieille Primary School) in the early 2000s and the prestigious secondary school, ‘School Albert Premier De Monaco’ later.  

Becoming a Ferrari Driver

Once he graduated in 2018 from the Ferrari Driver Academy, Charles’ racecar life really began. A rule introduced in 2014, allowed Leclerc to choose his own permanent driver number instead of being assigned one that would stay with him through his career. Admittedly, he revealed he wanted the number 7 but since this was already taken, he decided to go with 16, for 2 reasons. First, this was his birth date and second, the numbers 1 and 6 added to 7. 

He was able to fulfill his long time dream of competing in the Formula One races when he joined on with the Sauber 1 Team (now known as Alpha Romeo Racing). Of course, even in his rookie years, he still managed to impress with his skills, and continuously outperformed his previous stats. His talent was also quickly noticed by the Formula 1 top teams as well. 

In 2019, Charles was able to reach yet another milestone in a short period of time. He joined Scuderia Ferrari – one of the most successful and iconic racing teams in Formula 1. During this time, he was also able to drive the newly constructed Ferrari – the SF90 racing car – and won two Grand Prix races that season. This partnership with Ferrari was only the beginning for this new chapter and helped him solidify his status as one of the sport’s rising stars. 

Net Worth

For such a young person, Charles has done exceptionally well. His net worth as of 2023, was estimated to be $125 million. Majority of this wealth comes from his owned assets and a profitable agreement between himself and Ferrari that was recently made. 

Additional Awards/Honours Earned

Leclerc has demonstrated his impressive racing skills ever since he started racing so the following awards/honours he received shouldn’t come as a surprise. He showed that through hard work and determination anything really is possible.

• Autosport Awards Rookie of the Year – 2017 
• Autosport Awards Rookie of the Year – 2018
• FIA Rookie of the Year – 2018 
• Confartigianato Motori Best Young Driver – 2018 
• Confartigianato Motori Driver of the Year – 2020
• Monaco Medal of Honor – 2020
• Crypto.com Overtake of the Year Award – 2023