Charles Leclerc

Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc ( ; born 16 October 1997, Monte Carlo, Monaco) is a Monégasque professional racing driver, who is currently competing in the Formula 1 for Ferrari, after competing for Sauber in .'Sauber confirm Leclerc & Ericsson, as Alfa Romeo livery revealed', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 02/12/2017), https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/headlines/2017/12/sauber-confirm-leclerc---ericsson--as-alfa-romeo-livery-revealed.html, (Accessed 02/12/2017) A Ferrari Driver Academy member and reigning FIA Formula 2 Champion, Leclerc is one of the highest rated young drivers of the current era, who has previously tested for the Scuderia, and 2018 employers Sauber. He is also well known for his severe clinical depression.
==Background==
Leclerc began karting at the age of eight, taking six junior category titles in five seasons in France and Monaco. Leclerc would go one to finish as runner-up to Max Verstappen in the CIK-FIA World KZ Championship in 2013, his final year in go-karts. The Monégasque racer would also make a notable friendship with Jules Bianchi during his karting career.
===The Single-Seater Sprinter===
Leclerc would graduate to racing cars in 2014, entering the Formula Renault 2.0 Alps, ending the season as the Junior Champion and runner-up overall.'LECLERC TAKES ROOKIE CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE',
 fotecmotorsports.com, (Fortec Motorsport, 08/10/2014), http://fortecmotorsports.com/leclerc-takes-rookie-championship-title/, (Accessed 02/12/2017) His efforts landed him a spot in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship for 2015, taking three wins to finish fourth overall, behind Champion Lance Stroll.Marcus Simmons, (14 January 2015). 'Nicolas Todt protege Charles Leclerc secures F3 deal for 2015', autosport.com, (Haymarket Media, 14/01/2015), https://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/117356, (Accessed 02/12/2017) The Monégasque was then moved into the GP3 Series for 2016, taking his first major title in a racing car at the end of the season with three victories.Peter Allen, 'Leclerc is GP3 champion despite collision as De Vries wins', formulascout.com, (Formula Scout, 26/11/2016), http://www.formulascout.com/leclerc-is-gp3-champion-despite-collision-as-de-vries-wins/35825, (Accessed 02/12/2017)
Leclerc's rapid ascent up the motorsport ladder continued into 2017, with the Monégasque racer joining fellow Academy ace Antonio Fuoco in the FIA Formula 2 Championship.Alex Kalinauckas, 'Jerez F2: Leclerc crowned champion after crazy finish', motorsport.com, (Motorsport Network, 07/10/2017), https://www.motorsport.com/fia-f2/news/jerez-f2-leclerc-crowned-champion-after-crazy-finish-962759/?s=1, (Accessed 02/12/2017) It would be a masterful display from the youngster throughout the season, as Leclerc dominated qualifying throughout the first half of the season, taking five wins before the summer break. A further two wins saw him end the season as Champion in his debut season in the series, putting him in prime position for a seat in Formula One.
Leclerc's performance in 2017 was made all the more remarkable given the death of his father Hervé, whom had guided his career through until his Formula 3 debut.'HERVÉ LECLERC PASSES AWAY',
 cikfia.com, (CIK-FIA, 21/06/2017), http://www.cikfia.com/newsroom/view/article/herve-leclerc-passes-away.html, (Accessed 02/12/2017)
==Formula One Career==
Leclerc's first involvement with Formula One came in 2016, when the Monégasque racer was inducted into the Ferrari Driver Academy.Valentin Khorounzhiy, 'Leclerc gets Ferrari and Haas development role', motorsport.com, (Motorsport Network, 01/03/2016), https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/leclerc-gets-ferrari-and-haas-development-role-676625/?s=1, (Accessed 02/12/2017) He would make his F1 testing debut with Ferrari customer team Haas F1, taking part in FP1 at the 2016 British Grand Prix, with further FP1 sessions given to him later in the season. Rumours soon abounded that Leclerc would join Haas in 2017, although the American outfit declared that the Monegasque racer would have to compete in Formula 2.
===Sauber Star?===
Leclerc would indeed compete in F2 for 2017, although that would come alongside testing duties for . A single run-out in the full car came at the 2017 Budapest Test, although Leclerc only completed one day of running.'Leclerc heads day one of Budapest test for Ferrari', (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 01/08/2017), https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/headlines/2017/8/leclerc-heads-day-one-of-budapest-test.html, (Accessed 02/12/2017) However, that would prove to be enough for Sauber to sign the Monegasque racer for 2018, as they strengthened ties with engine suppliers Ferrari.
== 2018: Alfa Romeo rookie ==
Leclerc had a very good rookie season, displaying his talent whereever he could, clearly leaving no room for the long overdue Marcus Ericsson, and through LeClerc, the car improved as well from a back-of-the-grid field filler to serious top-of-the-midfield contender. He showed masterful skill and overtaking, often outdriving the potential of the car, but also suffering tremendous moments of bad luck, with reliability and wheel nuts. He got along well with Fred Vasseur, who rated him highly and was very impressed.
His display was noticed by Ferrari, and they really felt he was ready for them. 
== 2019: First season in Red ==
Heading to , Charles Leclerc would be driving the Scuderia Ferrari in place of Kimi Räikkönen. During silly season Leclerc had lengthened his contract for at least four years.
During the , Charles scored fastest laps during two of three practice sessions. Leclerc took his first top 5 finish, having started fifth with Verstappen inbetween him and his new teammate, 4-time world champion Sebastian Vettel. He was having to watch for Vettel, who defended hard on the opening lap, and at some point, Vettel had an issue with his car, but LeClerc had to stay behind him. 
At the , Leclerc was able to score his first pole position during the qualifying session, beating Vettel, Hamilton and Bottas when the Ferrari seemed the best car in qualifying. This made him the second youngest polesitter in F1 ever, after Seb. The latter had the better start, and soon, during the same lap, both Mercedes' came past him as well. However LeClerc didn't let it slide and proceeded to move back into the groove, and caught them once more, overtaking them back soon enough.
Having done that and steadily gaining on his teammate, LeClerc reported to have more pace, but they told him to wait. Having waited long enough, Charles took the initiative, and started using his pace. He proceeded to catch Vettel and passed him with a sweet move in turn 1. Vettel had an opportunity to come back, but was fended of brilliantly.
LeClerc was the man of the match, and led the majority of laps, being the clear fastest driver, but it seemed too good to be true, as he felt something strange on the eninge. It had developed a misfire, from a malfunctioning cylinder due to a failed fuel injector. His pace dropped and the Mercedes were catching him quickly. He was overtaken by Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. Leclerc finished third after Nico Hülkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo retired with reliability problems on lap 54, which caused a safety car at the end. This stopped Max Verstappen from catching up and having a run at him as well, and therefore Charles was still able to score his first podium and retain the fastest lap.
At the , Leclerc qualified in fourth place, his teammate Sebastian Vettel was ahead of him, getting a great final lap in at the last second, frustrating Verstappen. On Sunday, LeClerc and Vettel had a tussle at the opening laps, and Mercedes got away, and both wanted to be let through pas the other Ferrari, which Ferrari did twice but in the end Vettel had the advantage, and LeClerc had a less ideal strategy with an extra stop, and lost 4th place to Verstappen, who was pushed aside by Vettel through great defense. Vettel was not far away from Mercedes which was good, meanwhile Charles came home 5th.
At the , Leclerc started 8th after penalties were given to Kimi Raikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi. He had a crash, locking up his brakes in the qualifying session, in the narrow castle section. Then he uttered his famous quote on the board radio, being angry at himself: "I am stupid!". Nevertheless, he made amends on the next day when he recovered well, passing Verstappen at some point before. He recovered back to 5th, one place higher than his previous year's running in Baku earning him the driver of the day spot whilst Vettel held on to third. He was given an extra point for the fastest lap of the race.
The RedBull was faster in the Spanish Grand Prix, and Verstappen beat both Ferrari's after they had argued who should be let in front once again. The safety car near the end made things interesting, but Vettel couldn't attack Max. LeClerc trailed Seb home in 5th.
Unfortunately, the which is his hometown Grand Prix proved him no good luck. Ferrari made a horrendous error by keeping him in the garage which meant the track improved, he didn't take the benefit and was out in Q1. Now he had his work cut out on race day, starting at the back end. He was on a good roll, passing several cars with daring overtakes in tight parts, passing Norris and Grosjean, but when attempting to overtake Nico Hulkenberg, he was too close to the inside and damaged his car. He had to go back to the pits with shodded tyres, but was so aggrevated that he destroyed his floor by going too fast on them. He went out again after some repairs had been done, but it was to no avail, his car had no speed and he was a lap down, so they drew him back into the pits. This was his second time retiring in his own nation's Grand Prix after he had a brake failure in 2018 in the Sauber-Alfa Romeo, and couldn't avoid a collision with Hartley's Toro Rosso.
At the , Leclerc started and finished third, a whopping 6 tenths of Vettel's pole, and wasn't able to stay with Vettel and Hamilton who fought for the win with Vettel leading, who then had to go to the grass, and was giving a penalty. Hamilton won despite Vettel crossing the line first, and LeClerc uttered his disappointment to the team with how Vettel was robbed off his victory.
At the , Leclerc performed very well given the car deficit by firstly fending of Max Verstappen on the opening laps. Then he pulled away from the RedBull, and was edging very close to Valtteri Bottas' Mercedes at the finale stages, and ended on the podium with third place.
The saw Leclerc grabbing his second career pole position. On Sunday he was showing fantastic pace, leading unthreatened upfront for most of the time, whilst Mercedes had a lesser day, and Vettel having to make up places after he was not able to set a lap on Q3 after an issue with his car. Verstappen however had started in P2, botched his start but for some reason, his car performed well, he was going lightning fast, and his strategy worked. On fresh tyres he made up a lot of places, passing Vettel and Bottas and then caught up to LeClerc, who wasn't so easy to pass. After Max's first overtake attempt, LeClerc smartly kept round the outside and had a great exist, using the Ferrari power to come back past again. However, on the next lap, Max tried it at the same corner, but turned in late deliberatly, shoved LeClerc off the road and blamed the Monegasque driver for hitting him. Somehow Verstappen was able to get away with that, to drive off and win the race. LeClerc was visibily upset, as you could tell by his radio comments, and believed this wasn't fair, looking with lots of chagrin on the second spot of the podium.
At the , Leclerc showed what kind of driver he really is. He qualified a brilliant third, not too far off the better Mercedes' cars. He started well and seemed to be a completely new driver. He was more aggressive and defended fiercely against Verstappen who was coming at him and trying to pass, when Ferrari was a bit slower, less grip and struggled more with Tyres. He finally took revenge on Verstappen, making it even for the questionable move in Austria. It resulted in what many fans considered the best battle of the season. Leclerc's defense was immeasurable, even outbraking whilst going around the outside of the Dutch driver. 
Vettel was looming for Verstappen for a while when Leclerc defended hard, but they were in a class of their own, behind the two Mercedes who were faster. LeClerc and Verstappen pitted on the same lap, but Red Bull's stop at the garage ahead of the red garage was 0.5 seconds faster, which meant Max and LeClerc were but at the pit exit Max could get the shorter turn, getting ahead. After a while Max had gone a little bit wide and a new battle started and they were fighting like crazy, making it very difficult for one another. A safety car period saw Ferrari adopting a different strategy for Vettel, who had stayed out, remained in the vicinity of the fighting duo after dispatching Gasly, and could comfortably take the third place over from Verstappen, doing a one stop under yellow which saved him several seconds. 
LeClerc lost out when Ferrari pitted him a lap later than Max. He was behind the Dutchman now and when racing was resumed, Vettel and Gasly were in front of the pair, and LeClerc became the hunter when he was the hunted at first. He threw everything at it to get by Verstappen, but his car had more grip and his defense left no room for the Ferrari driver to get fully past him. A while later, LeClerc had given up the fight and both drivers had set their sights on Gasly. LeClerc made the overtake of the race by beautifully moving around the Frenchman in a very smooth manner, in a corner which became the inside and proceeded to follow Max. 
Max had great pace and this time he had closed the gap to LeClerc's teammate, who was then overtaken and Sebastian immediately wanted to retaliate after a short straight, but made a judgement error and attempted an inside pass in a closing gap, which resulting in him not being able to get out of the gap in time and rear-ending Verstappen, launching the RedBull over a kerb and losing grip himself to spin round again, spinning round. Vettel was penalized, and his pace was totally gone, seemingly he had lots of damage. LeClerc could profit from this and he moved ahead of the duo. He finished a great third ahead of Gasly and Verstappen who recovered to fifth with his damaged car, and LeClerc was voted as Driver of the Day. 
However, at the , Leclerc qualified tenth only when he had an issue with his car in Q3, whilst Vettel couldn't even set one lap after his car had an even bigger issue, meaning Ferrari failed to get a car out of Q1 again. LeClerc had a good pace on Sunday, and made a decent start, as well as several brilliant overtakes, keeping up with the top 3, but he did not finish the race when he slid off on a wet part of the track and hit the barrier, which resulted in his second DNF result. More drivers would find their Waterloo there.
At the , Leclerc suffered a rear-end crash during the qualifying, but still qualified fourth. Ferrari didn't have the pace here, and their drivers fought for the final podium spot when Gasly was once again stuck behind a McLaren after a poor qualifying and Bottas being unlucky. LeClerc and Hamilton both barged their way through the Fin, who started second but on lap 1 he sustained damage on his front wing and had to change it, meaning he had to climb through the field, and that took way too long, so he was out of the front battle. LeClerc was in third most of the time, but Vettel's alternative strategy worked, managing his tyres well and made an extra stop, closing the gap to LeClerc back rapidly and on the final laps, he took a dive on the inside on the Monegasque before turn 1. LeClerc defended well, but couldn't stop the charging German. He finished fourth.
The saw Leclerc achieving his third pole position. The Ferrari seemed competitive. He had a massive gap to Vettel in P2 during qualifying, and in the race it proved similar. He had a good start and led comfortably. On lap 19 of the race, he was given a standing ovation, but kept it modest despite being pleased to lead, because the race was overshadowed by the tragic death of Anthoine Hubert, who crashed during the second lap of the FIA Formula 2 Belgian Grand Prix. LeClerc. Charles was let through Vettel who moved aside gallantly, and later did his best to hold back the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, who had better race pace. Hamilton was closing in on LeClerc during the last laps, but couldn't get close enough to do anything to hold off LeClerc from getting his first victory, which he attributed to the Frenchman he knew so well but had passed away so sadly.
At the , Q3 was a complete mess, but LeClerc didn't wait for Hulkenberg's dirty antics, and moved passed to set a final lap at the last two minutes. This way, Leclerc scored his fourth pole position, and second consecutive pole. On race day, LeClerc could not rely on his teammate, who made another uncharacteristic error, eliminating Vettel out of the fight completely, and he was on his own to hold back the quicker Mercedes, who were better in race trim but hadn't got anything on the Ferrari in straight line speed. LeClerc used this to his full advantage, and Hamilton's relentless attacks didn't even faze him. LeClerc defended on the edge of what was allowed, and made Hamilton desperate. 
Ferrari's ultimate grunt meant that Hamilton had a tough time to stay with him for another passing attempt. The pitstop fase went well, and LeClerc opted for hard tyres, which would degrade a lot less than Hamilton's mediums. Bottas meanwhile went on for a bit longer. The Renaults had stayed out as well, and LeClerc and Hamilton had to make their way through Hulkenberg and Ricciardo, which they did effortlessly.
The great fight continued, and still LeClerc was in full control to hold back the 5 time world champion. At some point LeClerc had squeezed Hamilton really tight, which resulted in a complaint from the Mercedes driver and an unnecessary black-white flag. LeClerc narrowly survived being overtaken after a brake lock-up in turn 1, and could continue in the lead. Meanwhile Bottas had pitted more than 5 laps after the pair in front, and was now on fresher tyres. When Hamilton sailed straight on at turn 1 and had to take the long way around the obstacle course, he lost second place to Valtteri, who was then designated as the man to challenge the Ferrari driver. Bottas never really got close enough and the one moment he had closed up enough running into the last lap, he ran too deep into turn 1, and that was his only, but last chance.
LeClerc was extatic and shouted in happiness over the team radio, he had set the Italian crowd alight, winning two major events back-to-back, but now he had done what any Ferrari driver would love to do, claim victory for the Scuderia on home soil, in the temple of speed. Despite Vettel's horrible race, the tifoisi had something to celebrate. LeClerc had just made himself a hero in Italy. His characterful skill in warding off the Silver Arrowshad earned him massive respect.
The fans had little hopes for Ferrari after the two power tracks were done, because the car seemed very compromised at high downforce tracks with narrow, slow-speed corners. However Ferrari surprised everyone and was very competitive at the Singapore Grand Prix, the car rode the kerbs well. Leclerc got another pole position after a nail-biting final Q3 lap at the demanding track which saw him touch the wall slightly in a similiar way like Sebastian did in 2017. He beat Hamilton and Vettel in qualifying this way, who started second and third respectively. 
On race day, LeClerc held the lead but his pace was not superb, and Vettel fought Hamilton, but was still third. When the big guns had their round of pitstops, many midfield drivers stayed out, but due to LeClerc's conservative pace, had stayed within the pit window, so they had to be overtaken later. During the pitstop fase, Vettel set an incredible out lap and only just ended up in front of LeClerc who was flustered by this and had made it past Hamilton this way too. In the next face, they had to overtake several slower cars that had stayed out, and Vettel, LeClerc, Verstappen and Hamilton had to make their way through. Vettel had to defend his lead several times after some safety cars. He finally won again after a year of drought. LeClerc had to settle for second and was not happy.
One race later in Russia, Ferrari still looked as strong as ever. Leclerc earned his fourth consecutive pole position with Hamilton on the front row next to him and Vettel third. Vettel had an amazing start on race day, and swooped past Hamilton and LeClerc, who got very annoyed by this. Vettel's pace was good, and he started to edge further and furter away from LeClerc, who still had to worry about Hamilton who wasn't far off.
Ferrari opted to let Vettel out on his older tyres for a bit more, so LeClerc could be in front after the pitstop rounds. LeClerc's fresh tyres gave him enough advantage to be leader when Vettel had pitted. Vettel hadn't given up and gradually made inroads on his teammate. But unfortunately for him, his worse strategy wasn't his only problem. His ERS system suddenly failed, ending his race. This tragic moment for Seb spoiled LeClerc's race as well. The yellow flags were waved, and Mercedes could get a free pitstop without costing them too much time. This meant they ended up in front of Charles, who kept close to Bottas to see if he could find an opening, but it was impossible, and he had to settle for third.
At the , Vettel once again seemed the quicker driver, and beat LeClerc for pole, and once more Ferrari looked like a great car that could fight Mercedes. LeClerc's start wasn't great, and he had Verstappen alongside him. LeClerc defended too fiercely which ended up in a collision, understeering into Max' sidepod and the RedBull had sustained a lot damage. The Ferrari had damage as well, but LeClerc reported he could drive on as the balance 'didn't feel too bad'. So he stayed out, indeed setting competitve lap times.
But when a mirror flew off and nearly hit Hamilton, LeClerc was forced to pit. Leclerc also was issued a five-second time penalty for the Max Verstappen collision, which later resulted Verstappen's DNF. He was also handed a ridiculous ten-second post-race penalty for not boxing fast enough after he had loose parts on his car. After a spirited and sterling come back drive, he ended up P6, overtaking Raikkönen in a crazy last-gasp pass in 130R and several other brilliant overtakes followed. But due to penalties, he finished P7. Later, it was reported that there was a disqualification on Daniel Ricciardo who had finished P7, so Leclerc's P6 result was re-instated.
Leclerc took his seventh pole position at the when Verstappen was too arrogant and threw his own pole away by ignoring yellow flags waved for Bottas, who had crashed on his attempt at a fast lap. Vettel and LeClerc DID obey the rules, and when LeClerc had managed P2, it became P1 after the stewards had moved Max three places back, to start 4th, alongside the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton in P3. 
On Sunday, Ferrari had a front row lock-out once more, and set off. Vettel defended hard against Lewis, who then went on to tussle with Verstappen. When the Ferrari's had gone well ahead of that battle, they had a moment of contact a few laps later, but everything was okay. LeClerc stopped a lot earlier whilst Vettel stayed out for half of the race, meaning LeClerc had to do another pitstop and at the end it was Hamilton and Vettel in front again, as well as Bottas in P3. LeClerc did set a fastest lap, streaking clear of Albon and ending up in a decent 4th place.
However, he ended up finishing fourth in both the Mexican and Ferrari lacked the pace in the United States Grand Prix. He also scored additional points for the fastest lap.
At the , Leclerc qualified fourth, but was placed in P14 on the seventh row due to a ten-place grid penalty for using a new spec engine during the United States Grand Prix. LeClerc went on to have a great drive, passing other cars left and right, but had no answer to the pair of Hamilton and Verstappen and Hamilton, who fought for the lead and had stopped when LeClerc hadn't, meaning they had to pass LeClerc which was easier with fresh tyres. Meanwhile LeClerc would do a great job in keeping Valtteri Bottas at an arms length, Bottas finding no way to get by.
Some incidents happened, which resulted in safety cars and a closed-up pack. Vettel, his teammate who had started second but was passed by Hamilton on the start, was in P3 with Charles having made up enough ground to be behind him and Alex Albon in P5 at the restart.
When the race went green once more, Alex would pass Vettel first, and then Charles followed on turn 1. Vettel attempted repassing on the straight leading to turn 4, but squeezed LeClerc too much, resulting in wheel contact and both had severe tyre damage, which resulting in a crash for LeClerc and Vettel was not able to continue either, resulting in a Ferrari double DNF for the first time since the infamous Ferrari sandwich incident in Sinagpore 2017.
The saw Leclerc start third. He had a brief fight with Max, but had to concede. It was a crazy race since the DRS wasn't working at some points. He finished third in the race meaning he finished fourth in the standings. Then after the race, an investigation on his fuel was started by the FIA.Eventually Ferrari was fined 50,000 euros for having too much fuel in the car. Neither Vettel nor Leclerc were to blame so they kept their results.
== 2020: Impressing in Ferrari's soapbox and depression starting to emerge ==
Ferrari was deemed guilty of having an illegal engine in 2019, which came into question after their performance surge in Belgium, which was a bit more of a slump in the US GP. However proof of this was never found. It seems they had a clever trick to bypass a sensor and were able to guide more fuel into their system, which was possibly still a grey area. Even still, they must have been penalised by the FIA to run a slower engine for the next season, as 2020 was quite.
However, LeClerc still remained as good as he showed in 2019, and proved that despite the set-backs, he could still give his maximum performance and 100% of his skill to squeeze every drop of result out of even the trickiest situation or the worst balance of a car.
During the pandemic, the calender was shortened, and the season would not start in Australia, but many months later in Austria. The track, where LeClerc had managed a fanatastic pole lap and a great race where he finished a fantastic second, it became clear that the Ferrari had lost serious speed. The car was now more of a midfielder. 
Vettel couldn't cope with the balance. Meanwhile LeClerc showed what he was really made off, and did the impossible with this machine, which lacked a lot, especially on the straights. However it wouldn't stop LeClerc from clawing through the field, even beating the faster McLaren of Lando Norris, overtaking him to grab an insane second place, in a car that doesn't belong up there at all. Vettel didn't even find his way in the top 10.
== 2021: A better car, but worse luck ==
Ferrari made massive step as a team in 2021, in terms of professionalism, but also performance as a whole. The car was still not up there with the two ruling brands, but they were at least third best for most of the time. They had regained some straight line speed, and the balance was better. LeClerc had a new teammate in Carlos Sainz, when his old mate, Sebastian Vettel had moved to Aston Martin when Ferrari didn't extend his contract. Carlos and Charlos got a long very well, and Sainz really impressed with his performance, adapting to the team really quickly. Still, LeClerc proved what a potential champion could do with a car that wasn't up with the best.
The calendar was at a normal size again, and they would start in Bahrain again. 
LeClerc did a phenomenal job in this season but thanks to a series of unlucky moments he wasn't able to get all out of it, and that's how Sainz outscored him, which got several fans thinking Sainz is better, which clearly wasn't the case.
He was unlucky in Hungary, when Stroll wanted to play bowling and took him out of the race. Seeing how well Sainz did, you could imagine if LeClerc could've won this race had Stroll not hit him.
== 2022: A low point for Ferrari, despite competitiveness ==
2022 was the year LeClerc could've had so much more, even a world title, but it went all down the drain when it was just getting started.
The rulebook was totally rearranged in terms of how the cars were designed, which brought some chances in the paddock and the pecking order. Ferrari had come prepared well, and from the get go, they were amazing.
LeClerc led comfortably, untill his engine died in a plume of smoke. The race was basically his, but was given to Verstappen again, who was ordered past his fast teammate, and managed to pass Russell for the lead despite a DRS issue.
LeClerc easily drove the car to pole in his home GP, where he couldn't start last year after Ferrari failed to check the car completely. Perez meanwhile caused a crash that aborted the laps of Verstappen and Sainz, but pole was always going to be in Charles' hands. 
On race day however, Ferrari didn't know what they were doing. 
== 2023: Patience is fading ==
After the failure of 2022, Ferrari was at a good place in the wintertests, and it seemed they had ironed out most of their reliability issues. Their pace seemed good too, at least as second fastest or perhaps capable of challenging RedBull again.
It turned out that RedBull was the class of the field, and Ferrari had serious homework to do.
LeClerc delivered when it mattered and qualified third, only 2 tenths shy of the RedBulls in Bahrain, however a weird strategy was adopted to not go on the final run in Q3, which could've gotten him pole, but we'll never know. The reason behind this decision was to save a set of soft tyres, however one would wonder why they couldn't have LeClerc go through Q1 on mediums and save a set this way. 
Either way, LeClerc made a very good launch from third and took the outside line in turn 1, and got past Perez, who was slightly slower off the line. He kept ahead of Perez for a good part of the race, which saw him as quicker than the Aston Martin with Alonso, who would later pass Sainz. LeClerc had softer tyres with good pace, but instead of using it optimal, Ferrari called him in rather early, before the RedBulls. After the pitstop fase, LeClerc had no answer to the second RedBull's superior speed, and had to concede to Perez, who then drove away. Still, a third place as on the cards, untill he hit trouble with his brand new, just replaced engine. His podium and 15 points went up in smoke, and Alonso would inherit it later after making his way through Hamilton and Sainz.
LeClerc delivered a fantastic qualfiying lap when the Ferrari didn't look capable of that at all, qualifying in second, ahead of the. Again, what could have been had he not have to start 10 places back. After a good start he picked off various drivers, faster even than Vrstappen who also had to start further back when his car died on him in qualifying and started 15th. At some point, Verstappen was closer, and just before he was in LeClerc's DRS, LeClerc pitted early, which was strange, as the car was performing well and the tyres held out well too. He ended up behind Sainz, but then suddenly the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll came to a standstill with some sort of problem. The safety car was out, which gave Hamilton and Verstappen a chance to jump LeClerc through the pits, which they did. LeClerc couldn't believe his ill luck.
They also gave him the wrong tyre, not learning from previous season. The car had less performance on the hards, and he finished 7th, behind Sainz in 6th.
LeClerc had enough pace in Australia, but his qualifying had been compromised by his lazy engineer again, who blatantly reported rain in 3 minutes, which meant LeClerc hasted to at least do a lap, although ideally he had to do a preparation lap for these delicate tyres. Having Sainz in his way on the out lap wasn't great either, and he could only manage to qualify 7th, behind Hulkenberg even. The rain never came and he had to recover ground the next day to stay in the main race a the front.
On race day, the for LeClerc was quickly over, after he had a fast start and tried to hang on the outside of Stroll, who just punted him off the track into the gravel, and it was not able to get out. This is another DNF for the unluckiest man on the grid, who quickly sees himself being well behind on points and far, way far of the championship leader.
At the moment we have a break for a month, awaiting if LeClerc can salvage his championship position in Azerbaijan and recover the lost ground due to his misfortune. Could he put it together once more for a pole position and experience the winning feeling once again? 
==Formula One Statistical Overview==
===Formula One Record===
Year 	Entrant 	Team 	Pts 	WDC Pos. 	Report
Junior Career	Junior Career 	Junior Career 	Junior Career 	Junior Career 	Junior Career
2016–2018 	Ferrari Driver Academy 	Ferrari Driver Academy	Ferrari Driver Academy	Ferrari Driver Academy	Ferrari Driver Academy
Senior Career	Senior Career 	Senior Career 	Senior Career 	Senior Career 	Senior Career
 	Haas F1 Team 	 	Test Driver 	Test Driver 	Test Driver
 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	Test Driver 	Test Driver 	Test Driver
 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	Test Driver 	Test Driver 	Test Driver
 	Sauber F1 Team 	 	Test Driver 	Test Driver 	Test Driver
 	Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team 	 	39 	13th 	Report
 	Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow	 	264 	4th 	Report
 	Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow	 	98 	8th 	Report
 	Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow	 	159 	7th 	Report
 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	308 	 	Report
 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	206 	5th 	Report
 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	 	rowspan="2" 	Report
 	Scuderia Ferrari HP 	 	 	 	Report
 	Scuderia Ferrari HP 	 	 	 	Report
===Career Statistics===
===Race Wins===
Win Number	Grand Prix
1 	2019 Belgian Grand Prix
2 	2019 Italian Grand Prix
3 	2022 Bahrain Grand Prix
4 	2022 Australian Grand Prix
5 	2022 Austrian Grand Prix
6 	2024 Monaco Grand Prix
7 	2024 Italian Grand Prix
8 	2024 United States Grand Prix
=== Records ===
===== Records listing LeClerc in the top 10: =====
* Charles LeClerc is the second youngest pole sitter in Formula One of all time. He's second only to Sebastian Vettel who still holds this records since the 2008 Italian GP, where he gave Toro Rosso their first place grid start, in the wet. Sebastian replaced Fernando Alonso, who still sits third behind LeClerc. Alonso achieved this record at the 2003 Malaysian GP, at the age of 21 years, 236 days.
* Charles LeClerc is F1's third youngest GP winner. The Monegasque got this feat in the Belgian GP of 2019, where he was 21 years and 320 days of age. He's headed by Max Verstappen, who's on top after winning the 2016 Spanish GP at the age of 18 years and 228 days, and Sebastian Vettel, who held that record untill 2016 for winning the 2008 Italian GP at the age of 21 years and 73 days. Fernando Alonso held this record from the Hungarian GP in 2003 untill Seb's maiden win. He was 22 years and 26 days old, and sits now in 4th.
== Awards and honours ==
* Autosport Awards Rookie of the Year: 2017
* FIA Rookie of the Year: 2017
* Autosport Awards Rookie of the Year: 2018
* FIA Rookie of the Year: 2018
* Confartigianato Motori Best Young Driver: 2018
* Pirelli Pole Position Trophy: 2019
* Confartigianato Motori Driver of the Year: 2020
* Monaco Medal of Honour: 2020
===Career Results===
==See Also==
*Charles Leclerc at the Formula Two Wiki
==References==
Images and Videos:
*
References: 
Category:Monegasque Drivers
Category:Sauber Drivers
Category:1997 births
Category:2018 Début Drivers
Category:Living people
Category:Current Drivers
Category:Ferrari Drivers
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