Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc was born on 16 October 1997 in Monte Carlo, Monaco. His father, Hervé Leclerc, was a racing driver who competed in Formula Three in the 1980s and 1990s, while his mother, Pascale, is a former hairdresser who operated a hair salon in Fontvieille. His paternal step-grandfather founded the Novares Group, a French manufacturing company, and helped cover miscellaneous costs throughout Leclerc's karting career, but not the racing itself. Leclerc studied at the Lycée Albert Premier in Monaco-Ville.
Hervé died after a long illness, aged 54, four days before Leclerc won the feature race at the 2017 Baku Formula 2 round. Prior to his death, Leclerc lied to his father that he had signed a Formula One contract for the 2018 season; he signed with Sauber later that year. His older maternal half-brother, Lorenzo Tolotta-Leclerc, was best friends with Jules Bianchi — Leclerc's godfather until Bianchi's death in 2015 and his mechanic in kart racing. His younger brother, Arthur, is also a racing driver who has competed in open-wheel and sportscar racing, winning the Formula Regional Asian Championship in 2022.
Leclerc first began karting aged five and started racing at Brignoles, a kart circuit owned by Jules Bianchi's father. He began his competitive career in 2005, winning the regional PACA championship in the Mini class with 15 wins from 18 races, which he successfully defended in 2006. He advanced to Minime in 2007, winning the Trophée Claude Secq and finishing runner-up at the PACA championship. The following year he finished fifth in the Bridgestone Cup and runner-up in the French Championship, as well as winning the PACA title. Progressing to the Cadet class in 2009, Leclerc won the French Championship and Bridgestone Cup, as well as the regional Rhône-Alpes title. He partnered with Richard Mille that year, which supported him through the remainder of his karting career.
Leclerc progressed to international competition in 2010, entering the junior KF3 class, where he became the youngest winner of the CIK-FIA Monaco Kart Cup — his home event at the Circuit de Monaco. He was scouted by Nicolas Todt in 2011, joining Todt's All Road Management firm upon recommendation from Bianchi. Todt negotiated his move to Intrepid that year, and Leclerc won the World Cup at Sarno, later describing it as "by far [his] best karting race ever".
Leclerc graduated to the senior KF2 category in 2012 with the factory-backed ART Grand Prix team, winning the WSK Euro Series. He was involved in an incident with Max Verstappen at the second round, which resulted in both drivers' disqualifications. In 2013 he progressed to the KZ senior gearbox class, aged 15, opening the season with victory at the South Garda Winter Cup in KZ2. In a duel to become the youngest-ever KZ World Champion, he finished runner-up to Verstappen at Varennes-sur-Allier. Upon his graduation to junior formulae, Leclerc credited their "numerous clashes" with boosting his experience and character.
Leclerc graduated to junior formulae in 2014, signing for Fortec in Formula Renault 2.0, aged 16. He debuted in the Alps Series, taking two victories from seven podium finishes as he finished runner-up to Nyck de Vries — a third-year Formula Renault 2.0 driver — and beat Matevos Isaakyan to the rookies' championship. Fortec also entered Leclerc into select rounds of the Eurocup, part of the World Series by Renault, as a guest driver, where he ended his campaign with three podiums from six starts.
Leclerc graduated to Formula Three in 2015, contesting FIA European Formula 3 with Van Amersfoort Racing. He led the championship through the early rounds before colliding with Lance Stroll at Zandvoort and having to replace his Dallara F314 chassis, after which he failed to score a podium across the remaining four rounds and slipped to fourth in the standings. He clinched the rookies' championship, having achieved four victories from 13 podium finishes. Following his European F3 campaign, Leclerc entered the Macau Grand Prix with Van Amersfoort, finishing second to Felix Rosenqvist in both the qualification race and the Grand Prix.
In December 2015, Leclerc partook in post-season GP3 testing with ART and Arden, ultimately signing with ART for the 2016 GP3 Series. He additionally joined the Ferrari Driver Academy prior to the season. He clinched the title in race one at Yas Marina, with three victories from eight podiums, and dedicated the title to his godfather Jules Bianchi.
Following his GP3 title victory, Leclerc progressed to FIA Formula 2 with Prema for its inaugural 2017 season. He dedicated his pole in Baku to his recently deceased father, Hervé, converting it to victory in the feature. He clinched the title at the penultimate round at Jerez, becoming the then-youngest GP2/Formula 2 champion — aged 19 years, 356 days — as well as the third rookie champion after Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, and Nico Hülkenberg. Leclerc was named FIA Rookie of the Year for 2017, achieving seven wins from 10 podiums and eight pole positions, finishing 72 points ahead of eventual runner-up Artem Markelov.
In 2016, Leclerc joined the Ferrari Driver Academy and signed as a development driver for Haas and Ferrari. As part of his role at Haas, he participated in first free practice sessions at several Grands Prix. He took part in the 2017 mid-season test at the Hungaroring with Ferrari, driving the SF70H, completing 98 laps and setting the fastest lap of the first day. He also completed further free practice sessions with Sauber at the Malaysian, United States, Mexican, and Brazilian Grands Prix.
Leclerc signed for Sauber in 2018 as a full-time driver, replacing Pascal Wehrlein to partner Marcus Ericsson. With his debut at the Australian Grand Prix, he became the first Monégasque driver to compete in Formula One since Olivier Beretta in 1994. A sixth-placed finish at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix saw him become the first Monégasque driver to score points in Formula One since Louis Chiron in 1950. He credited the halo device with saving him from severe injury during a multi-car collision in Belgium. Leclerc finished thirteenth in the World Drivers' Championship with 39 points to teammate Ericsson's nine, and was named FIA Rookie of the Year.
Leclerc signed for Ferrari in 2019, swapping seats with Kimi Räikkönen to partner four-time World Drivers' Champion Sebastian Vettel. In Bahrain he took his maiden pole position to become the second-youngest polesitter in Formula One history, leading the majority of the race before an engine issue dropped him to a third-place finish, his maiden podium. He took pole for the Belgian Grand Prix, becoming the third-youngest Formula One Grand Prix winner — aged 21 — and dedicated the victory to Anthoine Hubert, who had been killed the day prior in FIA Formula 2. He then won the Italian Grand Prix from pole to become the first Ferrari winner at Monza since Fernando Alonso in 2010; his victories saw him nicknamed il Predestinato (lit. 'the Predestined') in Italian media. He clinched fourth in the World Drivers' Championship with 264 points, won the FIA Pole Trophy with seven poles, and extended his Ferrari contract until the end of 2024.
The 2020 season was delayed and shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while Ferrari struggled for performance with the SF1000. Leclerc recovered to second at the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix and secured another podium at the British Grand Prix. He ended the season eighth in the standings with two podiums and 98 points, 65 ahead of teammate Vettel, as Ferrari finished sixth in the World Constructors' Championship — their lowest since 1980.
Leclerc was partnered by Carlos Sainz Jr. at Ferrari for 2021. He secured a surprise pole at his home Grand Prix in Monaco but was unable to start the race due to a drive shaft issue, and qualified on pole again at the next round in Azerbaijan. His sole podium of the season came at the British Grand Prix, where he led until the third-to-last lap before finishing second. He finished the season seventh in the World Drivers' Championship on 159 points — the first time he had been outscored by a teammate in his formula racing career.
New regulations utilising ground effect saw Ferrari challenge Red Bull in the first half of 2022. Leclerc won the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix from pole, marking his and Ferrari's first victory since 2019 and making him the first Monégasque driver to lead the World Drivers' Championship. He took a dominant victory from pole at the Australian Grand Prix, achieving his maiden grand slam in Formula One. Power unit failures in Spain and Azerbaijan, along with strategic errors and crashes, eroded his title challenge; Verstappen clinched the title in Japan. Leclerc clinched second in the World Drivers' Championship at the final round in Abu Dhabi, totalling 308 points, leading the field with nine pole positions and three victories from 11 podiums, and won a second FIA Pole Trophy.
Ferrari struggled for consistent race pace and tyre wear throughout the early stages of 2023 as Red Bull consolidated their advantage. Leclerc achieved five pole positions and six podiums throughout the season, finishing fifth in the World Drivers' Championship on 206 points; his second place at the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix won him the Overtake Award.
Ahead of the 2024 season, Leclerc extended his contract with Ferrari beyond the 2026 regulation changes. He won the Monaco Grand Prix — his home race — for the first time in his career, having started on pole position, becoming the first Monégasque driver to win the event since Louis Chiron in 1931 and the first to do so in the Formula One World Championship. He secured Ferrari's first home win since 2019 with a one-stop strategy at the Italian Grand Prix, and took a third victory of the season at the United States Grand Prix. He finished the season third in the championship on 356 points, with three victories from 13 podiums.
Leclerc was partnered by seven-time World Drivers' Champion Lewis Hamilton in 2025. He claimed his first podium of the season with third place in Saudi Arabia and took a surprise pole in Hungary. Ferrari, who abandoned the SF-25 project early in the season, saw their performance regress further across the final three Grands Prix. Leclerc closed his campaign, and the ground effect era, fifth overall on 242 points — 86 ahead of Hamilton in sixth — with seven podiums to Hamilton's zero, outscoring him at 19 of 24 Grands Prix.
Ahead of new chassis and power unit regulations in 2026, Leclerc stated "it is now or never" for his prospect of a World Drivers' Championship with Ferrari. He immediately passed three drivers to lead the Australian Grand Prix before dropping to third, was runner-up in the China sprint, and returned to the podium in Japan.
Leclerc holds the record in Formula One for most pole positions without a World Drivers' Championship (27) and the eleventh-most in history. He also holds the record in either FIA Formula 2 or its predecessor GP2 for the most pole positions in a season (8). His driving style tends to favour a car with oversteer, allowing for precise micro-corrections and high cornering speeds, which has aided his qualifying pace. He became the youngest recipient of the FIA Pole Trophy in 2019, a feat he repeated in 2022. In 2020, a study by Amazon Web Services assessed Leclerc as the seventh-fastest Formula One driver of all time.
Leclerc has been noted by critics for his proficiency in wheel-to-wheel racing, particularly in battles with Max Verstappen at the 2019 Austrian and British Grands Prix and the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix. He has also been criticised for race-ending mistakes throughout his early seasons, particularly at the 2020 Italian, 2020 Sakhir, and 2022 French Grands Prix. The 1996 World Drivers' Champion, Damon Hill, described his racing mentality as "win or bust".
His helmet design features a base colour of rosso corsa with a Monégasque flag stripe along the lid. The words "Papa" and "Jules" are inscribed on the side, in remembrance of his father, Hervé Leclerc, and his godfather, Jules Bianchi.
Leclerc starred in Claude Lelouch's Le Grand Rendez-vous (2020), where he lapped the Circuit de Monaco in a Ferrari SF90 Stradale with Prince Albert II. In partnership with Ferrari, he made his voice acting debut in the Italian-language version of Pixar's Lightyear (2022). In November 2024, he appeared in Charles Leclerc – Supersonique, a Canal+ documentary, where he attempted aerobatics in a Dassault Rafale with the French Air and Space Force.
Leclerc began playing the piano aged six and committed to mastering the instrument during the COVID-19 lockdowns. In February 2024, he released his debut extended play, Dreamers, alongside French pianist Sofiane Pamart, which peaked at number two on the Billboard Classical Albums chart and number one on the Classical Crossover Albums chart.
Leclerc has been partnered with Swiss luxury watch company Richard Mille since 2009. He launched his own go-kart brand in 2019 in collaboration with Birel ART, became an endorsement model for Giorgio Armani in 2020, launched an ice cream brand called LEC in April 2024, and released a fashion capsule collection with Ferrari Style in 2025. He was named an ambassador of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation in 2018, and auctioned the equipment he wore at the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix to raise €368,800 for victims of the Emilia-Romagna floods.
Leclerc is trilingual, fluent in French, Italian, and English. He chose 16 as his personal driver number because the digits sum to his lucky number, 7, and because it is his birth date — 16 October. He began a relationship with French-born influencer Alexandra Saint Mleux in 2023; they announced their engagement in November 2025 and married in a private civil ceremony four months later in Monaco-Ville, with a larger ceremony scheduled for 2027. He served as a torchbearer for the Monégasque leg ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, and was awarded the Medal of Honour by the National Council of Monaco in 2020. Leclerc has been widely described as a national hero of Monaco, particularly following his home victory in 2024.
Formula One World Drivers' Championship runner-up: 2022
FIA Pole Trophy: 2019, 2022
FIA Rookie of the Year: 2017, 2018
Lorenzo Bandini Trophy: 2020
Overtake Award: 2023
Medal of Honour, Monaco: 2020
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