Quinten-Jan Karlsson

Karlsson with Renault

**Quinten-Jan Karlsson** (born 4 January 2000) is a Belgian racing driver.

## Early Life

Quinten-Jan Karlsson was born on 4th January 2000 in De Haan, a village fifteen minutes north of the city of Oostende, West Flanders, Belgium. His father, Joppe Karlsson, is a Belgian retired investment bank manager turned entrepreneur, and his mother, Laurélie (*née* Couturier) competed in junior karting. Karlsson grew up in Arlon, which is in the French-speaking region of Belgium his mother is from. Around the time he was eight years old, his sister Aurélie was born and shortly after the family moved back to West Flanders, with Karlsson joining them after finishing school.

Karlsson was educated at the prestigious Jerominau-Schoppach Institute, a private boarding school near Arlon. During his time there, he developed a fondness for motor racing, something his parents, particularly his mother, encouraged by financially supporting his early career. In addition to racing, he played association football for his school team with eventual Belgian international, Timothy Castagne.

## Junior Racing Career

### Formula 4

Karlsson began his racing career in 2012 in the junior division of Formula 4, where he impressed enough in his first couple of seasons to attract the attention of the French FFSA Racing Academy, whose main objective is to train young drivers and promote the best to give them access to a professional career, and subsequently offered him a drive for the 2014 Formula 4 French Championships.

Racing in the F4, Karlsson went on to win the series on his first attempt, finishing the season with nine wins and fifteen podium finishes. He followed that up with a 2nd place finish the next season, missing out on another title in the final race at Magny-Cours.

### Formula 3

Karlsson’s performances in the F4 attracted interest from the German racing academy Motopark, who moved him up a class to compete in the Formula 3 European Championship in 2016, where he would finish his only season with the team in a respectable 7th position. With a view to move a bit closer to home as well as race for a more competitive team, Karlsson signed with Dutch team Van Amersfoort Racing the following season, and finished 3rd overall, with two wins and eleven podium finishes.

For the 2018 season, Karlsson remained in the F3 with Van Amersfoort Racing. He stormed to the drivers title with a record-breaking twenty podium finishes, to go along with nine wins, comfortably ahead of future Formula One Driver Mick Schumacher in 2nd.

During the course of his F3 career, Karlsson also raced three times in the Macau Grand Prix, which featured a number of national champions from the various continental FIA Formula 3 series around the world, with the winner being awarded the FIA Formula 3 World Cup. Due to the challenging nature of the circuit, which consists of fast straights, tight corners and uncompromising crash barriers, the Macau Grand Prix is considered one of the most demanding circuits in the world. Karlsson finished 3rd and 11th in his first two attempts before winning on his third attempt, becoming a Formula 3 World Champion.

### Formula 2

In January 2019 Karlsson was confirmed as a driver for the Prague-based Charouz-Sauber team for the 2019 Formula 2 Championship, alongside Callum Ilott. He was also signed to the Renault-Alpine Driver Academy, and acted as a development driver for their Formula One team during pre-season testing.

Karlsson’s F2 career got off to a blistering start, with three consecutive poles, three feature race wins and two sprint race podiums in his first three races. This run of results gave him a substantial lead in the championship which he would not relinquish, sealing the Formula Two drivers title with a podium finish in Hungary. Karlsson would end the season with eleven wins and eighteen podiums in total, breaking several records for this category and finishing over 200 points ahead of his nearest rival in the standings. His team mate Ilott placed a distant third overall but this would be enough to give Charouz-Sauber their first ever F2 Constructors Championship.

Following the title win, it was widely expected that Karlsson would be promoted up to Formula One by Renault to replace the outgoing Fernando Alonso, and at the end of the year he once again tested their newest car, surprisingly running third fastest overall after 49 laps. In February 2020, a month before the start of the 2020 Formula One Season, team principal Cyril Abiteboul confirmed Karlsson as the new Renault driver, joining on a two year contract.

## Formula One Career

### Renault (2020–2021)

#### 2020: Rookie Season

Karlsson’s first season in Formula One saw him partner the experienced Daniel Ricciardo in a Renault car that was expected to compete for midfield places on the grid. After finishing in the points in his debut race in Australia, Karlsson secured an unexpected win in the Canadian Grand Prix, giving him both his maiden Grand Prix victory as well as his first ever podium in Formula One. He followed that up with two more podium finishes to end his rookie season in 8th, one place ahead of teammate Ricciardo. Renault finished the year fourth, a considerable distance behind the trio of Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari.

#### 2021: Contention at the Top

Summer testing saw the Renault team show a remarkable improvement in their car compared to last year, with Ricciardo and Karlsson now behind the wheel of a genuine challenger to the top three teams. Karlsson started where he left off last year, with multiple podiums before the mid season break including a repeat win at the Canadian Grand Prix. While another win eluded him, his performances for the season included five podiums, leading to a fifth place finish in the drivers standings. However this time he lost the teammate battle to Daniel Riccardio, who finished third behind the two Mercedes drivers, and Renault managed to pip Red Bull to 2nd in the Constructor's Championship.

The end of season retirement of Sebastian Vettel opened up a vacancy for the prestigious Ferrari seat, and the team publicly expressed their interest in bringing Karlsson into the fold. Although he had stated he was relatively satisfied about the direction of the Renault team and optimistic about their future, Karlsson found the allure of Ferrari too good to turn down, and after much speculation he was announced as their new driver for the 2022 season, partnering Charles Leclerc after signing a three-year contract with the team.

### Ferrari (2022-2026)

#### 2022: Disappointing First Season

Karlsson got off to a slow start with his new team, failing to place in the points in each of his first five Grand Prix’s, before breaking the streak in Monaco. It was followed by podium finishes in Canada, Austria and Belgium. At the Italian Grand Prix, Karlsson stormed to his first win in a Ferrari, giving the team a home win in front of the passionate *Tiofosi*. This would be his only Grand Prix victory of the year. At the end of the season, Karlsson finished 9th in the Drivers' Championship, one spot ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc, rounding off a disappointing season for the team, who ended up a lowly 5th in the Constructors' Championship.

#### 2023: Further Struggles

Karlsson began his second season with Ferrari brightly, finishing in the points in the first five races including a stunning win in the rain at the Dutch Grand Prix. However, his fortunes over the course of the year declined, which was in stark contrast to teammate Charles Leclerc, who stormed to an early lead in the drivers championship. Karlsson struggled in qualifying, and while his race pace remained solid, failing to start among the front of the grid took it’s toll on results. Leclerc went on to win his first Drivers' Championship, comfortably beating Karlsson who finished a disappointing 7th place. Although Ferrari remained in the battle for the constructors title until the final race, Karlsson’s struggles would eventually cost them, and they finished 3rd overall.

#### 2024: Maiden Drivers' World Championship

Before the season, Karlsson employed a mental trainer to increase his aggression, and spent his spare time over the winter participating in various sports car events to maintain his ability and competitive edge. He worked with his sports psychologist for up to eight hours per week with two hours of mental discipline every two days. Karlsson said he was confident of driving a competitive car and wanted to maintain his form by beating Leclerc more regularly.

Karlsson amassed four victories during the first half of the season, and found himself in the midst of a three way race for the title against Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz, driving for Red Bull and Mercedes respectively. Three second place finishes followed, and then a stunning win for Karlsson in Mexico saw him go clear at the top of the standings, with Sainz dropping out after a poor result.

As the season reached its conclusion in Brazil, it was down to a two-way fight for the title between Karlsson and Albon. Karlsson won his first title in dramatic fashion in a rain soaked last race of the season, finishing fourth, ahead of Albon. This made Karlsson the first Belgium driver to win the Drivers' World Championship, while Leclerc’s points finish after a Max Verstappen DNF also gave Ferrari the Constructors' Championship, doing the double in the process.

Following his successful season, Karlsson put pen to paper on a lucrative contract extension to stay with Ferrari until 2026.

#### 2025: Regulation Changes

The 2025 championship saw the introduction of significant changes to the sport's technical regulations, and after showing less than impressive pace throughout pre-season testing in Portimão, Karlsson and teammate Leclerc headed to Australia with many pundits believing they might struggle to defend the titles won the previous season as rivals Red Bull had made a much smoother transition into the era of new regulations.

This prediction would ring true as the Red Bull pair of Albon and Verstappen dominated the opening half of the season, winning all but one race between them before the break. Karlsson, while initially struggling to keep up, grabbed himself several podiums before getting his first ever Formula One win in front of his home crowd at the Belgian Grand Prix. This would also be his only win of the season, and his bid to defend his championship would officially end with four races to spare, with rival Alex Albon claiming his maiden driver’s title.

     Karlsson finished fifth in the driver’s standings, and combined with a disappointing season for Leclerc saw Ferrari slip to a lowly fourth on the constructors table. Although Red Bull and Mercedes had been the more consistent teams, fans and pundits criticised both the Ferrari drivers for making too many mistakes during the season.

#### 2026: Second Drivers' World Championship

Going into the 2026 season, journalists and fans were expecting a highly competitive field at the front with the Ferrari, McLaren, Renault and Mercedes cars all expected to challenge Red Bull.

Karlsson led the drivers standings by the end of the first four races, fending off early challenges from team-mate Leclerc and the Red Bull pair of Verstappen and Albon, before going on a run of seven consecutive wins to make his lead an unassailable one to clinch his second Drivers' Championship at the Russian Grand Prix with three races remaining. Ferrari also clinched the Constructors' Championship for the second time in the Leclerc-Karlsson era.

Before the final race, Ferrari had announced that Karlsson would be leaving the team at the end of the season, with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to be his last race with the Scuderia. Karlsson had rejected a two-year contract extension from the team, voicing his desire to seek a new challenge after five years at Ferrari. He was immediately linked with the vacant seat at Mercedes, with a return to his former team Renault also considered likely. However when Lando Norris was confirmed as Karlsson’s replacement at Ferrari, it was McLaren who moved quickly to offer him a multi-year contract to replace Norris, with the drivers essentially swapping drives with each other.

 The move was met with some surprise by pundits and the public, with some describing the move to McLaren as a gamble because of their lack of recent success, although their ever improving car was expected to be good enough to compete at the front of the grid. In an interview with *Autosport* magazine, Karlsson stated that racing alongside close friend Pierre Gasly was also a factor in his decision to choose McLaren.

## Driver Profile

### Driving Style

Karlsson is generally considered one of the most complete drivers on the grid, excelling across a wide range of areas. He is mainly known for his defensive driving style which allows him to successfully hold off quicker drivers, sometimes for an entire race. This, combined with his usual strategy of pitting earlier than other cars, results in him being able to improve on his starting grid position, constantly finishing above drivers who qualified for the race in higher positions. As his career progressed he took on a more aggressive approach, while also maintaining his ability to stay in front of drivers lapping at a much faster pace. Former world champion, Valtteri Bottas once described being stuck behind Karlsson “one of the most frustrating experiences during a race”, and commentators often point out the long line of vehicles stuck behind him forming a train like appearance.

Karlsson is also regarded as one of the best wet-weather drivers in the history of the sport, with some of his best performances occurring in those conditions. Most of this is down to his ability to make up places from the start, and adopting a one pit strategy in rain-effected races due to him being highly skilled driving on wet or intermediate tyres, something he attributes to growing up practising on his home Spa-Francorchamps track, which is known for it’s unpredictable and rainy weather.

Karlsson is often criticised for his lack of pace and subpar performances in qualifying, regularly getting out qualified by his teammates in the same car. Broadcasters, fans and journalists have often commented that Karlsson could win a significant amount of Grands Prix more than he actually does if he didn’t spend most of the race wearing down his tyres having to make up places he lost in qualifying starting low on the grid.

## Public Image, Endorsements and Other Ventures

Karlsson’s ability to quickly adapt to changes in team surroundings, cars and across different track conditions has been widely praised. His out-going and affable personality has helped him maintain close working relationships, and has been described by former teammate Daniel Riccardio as “fairly easy to get on with”. Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto described Karlsson as someone "always very open to suggestions from the engineers and backroom staff”. Karlsson is fluent in four different languages, including English, French, Dutch and German.

A fairly popular figure off the track due to his outspoken interviews, presence on social media, and a string of high profile relationships, Karlsson became a highly sought after name by clothing designers, luxury products as well as fitness and sports brands. Already a household name in his native Belgium by the time he made his Formula One debut, his success with Ferrari and his marriage to pop star Angèle made him one of the most recognisable athletes throughout the world.

From 2020 to 2023, he was associated with the Swiss luxury watch brand Jaeger-LeCoultre and the Belgian beer manufacturers Jupiler. Beyond that, Karlsson signed numerous endorsement contracts; some of the companies with which he has done business are the luxury goods makers Delvaux, fashion houses Lacoste and Hugo Boss, and the airline company Brussels Airlines. Since 2024, he is also the face of the Belgian Pro Football League advertisement campaign in the United Kingdom, after Sky Sports acquired the exclusive rights to broadcast the league in the country.

In 2023 Karlsson signed a multi-million contract with Adidas, with their Adidas x QJK motorsport wear collection consisting of training shoes, racing suits and gloves. He is a brand ambassador for Alpine, Bugatti, the French bank BNP Paribas and the Austrian motorcycle manufacturer KTM. As a result of Karlsson’s endorsement money and Formula One salary, he was listed as one of the world's highest-paid athletes by *Forbes* in 2025.

Karlsson is part of alcohol brewing company Heineken’s anti-drink-drive campaign, appearing alongside former Formula One World Champion Nico Rosberg in a series of advertisements released every year. In 2024, Karlsson, along with close friends Pierre Gasly, Lando Norris and Lance Stroll, raised €1.5 million towards the European Foundation to Eradicate Homelessness campaign called #MyHomeIsNotHere by hosting a 24 hour live stream playing video games together. In 2025, Karlsson donated €250,000 to the Algeria relief fund supporting the victims of the Algerian earthquake. He also teamed up with the animal rescue organisation Deutscher Tierschutzbund to raise capital for their mission is to rescue and re-home lost, abused and abandoned dogs.

In 2024, Karlsson expressed his intention to purchase a controlling stake in KV Oostende, the football club he grew up supporting, after they ran into financial difficulties following relegation to the third tier of Belgian club football. Later that year, with the backing of the retail corporation Colruyt Group, the takeover was completed and approved by the Belgian Football Federation. In the years since the takeover, KV Oostende returned to the top flight and established themselves in the division, finishing in the top three in the league on a couple of occasions as well as winning the Belgian Cup twice.

## Personal Life

Outside of motor racing, Karlsson is a fan of football and has often been spotted at the Versluys Arena watching his boyhood club KV Oostende. In 2024 he purchased a majority stake in the club, as part of a consortium backed by the Colruyt Group.

During his Formula 3 days, Karlsson started dating German racing driver Sophia Flörsch, with the pair bonding during their time as team-mates on Van Amersfoort Racing. The couple also raced as a part of a team in the Heineken Invitational Series in 2022, finishing 6th overall. Their six-year relationship ended in 2023. Following this, Karlsson briefly dated Belgian television presenter Julie Van den Steen, who was working for VRT Sport covering Formula One in the country at the time

At the start of 2025, Karlsson commenced a high-profile relationship with Belgian singer Angèle, after meeting at a sponsor event in Amsterdam where she was set to perform. Due to Karlsson’s rising status in motorsport and Angèle being one of Europe’s biggest pop stars, their relationship instantly attracted a great deal of media attention, and has been a tabloid fixture in the Belgian press and among Formula One social circles. Angèle is often spotted at Grand Prix weekends cheering him on in the paddock and Karlsson has been seen doing the same at her concerts all over the world.

Karlsson proposed to Angèle on 27th January 2016 in a restaurant in Paris, France, and they got married ten months later at Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. The guest list featured a number of current and former sports personalities along with musicians and celebrities from the fashion, arts and media world. Karlsson’s best man was Dorian Boccolacci, with whom he grew up racing alongside in the junior categories of motorsport. Current Formula One drivers Lando Norris, Lance Stroll, Pierre Gasly, Daniel Ricciardo, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were also in attendance. In July 2027, the couple gave birth to their first child, a boy Marco, and fourteen months later their second, a girl Axelle.

In 2023, Karlsson made his on-screen debut, playing himself in the Dutch movie *Voorpret*. In 2026, Netflix’s *Drive to Survive* released a special two-hour long documentary on Karlsson as part of their Drivers series, showcasing their early career and path to Formula One. Karlsson also appeared in the music video for Angéle’s 2025 single, *Adrénaline*.

### Residence

Karlsson, like many other Formula One drivers, moved to Monaco soon after signing his first contract with Renault. He also owns apartments in New York and Paris, the latter bought for a reported €19 million in 2024. Karlsson also purchased an estate in the Lauterbrunnen Valley in Switzerland, where he said he would live with his family after his retirement.

## Racing Record

### Career Totals

#### Races

 Indianapolis 500 | -
 24 Hours of Le Mans | -
 Heineken Invitational Series | -
 Nürburgring-Nordschleife Cup | -
 Total

## Honours and Achievements

### Formula One

* Formula One World Drivers' Championship: 2024, 2026
* Formula One World Constructors' Championship: 2024, 2026

### Junior Career

* Formula 2 Drivers' Championship: 2019
* Formula 3 World Cup: 2018
* Formula 3 European Championship: 2018
* Formula 4 French Championship: 2014
* Formula 2 Constructors' Championship: 2019
* Formula 3 European Constructors' Championship: 2017, 2018
* Formula 4 French Constructors' Championship: 2014
* Macau Grand Prix: 2018

### Racing

* Indianapolis 500: 2027
* Nürburgring-Nordschleife Cup: 2027