Charles Leclerc is currently leading the 2022 Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship standings after five races in the season. The Scuderia Ferrari driver has taken two wins and four podiums in the early stage of the Grand Prix season and is certainly one of the main favorites to win the title at the end of the season.
Charles Leclerc’s beginnings
Leclerc has been an F1 driver since the 2018 season, when he made his debut in the pinnacle of motor racing with Sauber, while already being a protege of the Scuderia Ferrari. After a solid season in 2018, he moved to Ferrari and has driven for the team for the last four seasons.
Before becoming one of the biggest names in Formula 1, Charles Leclerc had an outstanding career in junior formulas. Let us take a quick review of his achievements before entering Formula 1.
Leclerc competed in karting from 2005 to 2013 and he won championships every year from 2009 to 2013, including the 2011 CIK-FIA World Cup — KF3. After a successful career in karts, Leclerc made his single-seater debut in 2014, when he competed in the Formula Renault 2.0 Alps (finishing second in the championship) and the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0.
The Monegasque driver spent the 2015 season in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, finishing fourth in the championship with four wins in 33 races. He also competed in the 2015 Macau GP and finished second.
The following two seasons were dominant for Leclerc, as he won the 2016 GP3 Series with ART after taking three wins in 18 races. In 2017, Leclerc dominated in the FIA Formula 2 Championship after winning seven of the 22 races on the calendar.
His debut in Formula 1
With Sauber Alfa Romeo in 2018, in his debut F1 season, Leclerc scored 39 of his team’s 48 points in the season. He had already driven Formula 1 cars in practice sessions in 2016 and 2017 and impressed in his debut season. It helped him to land a Ferrari seat from 2019 on, and he was extraordinary with the Maranello-based team.
The first of Charles Leclerc’s four wins in Formula 1 came in the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix when he won from Pole Position, and he followed it up by winning the 2019 Italian Grand Prix at Monza from pole as well. He was fourth in the 2019 F1 standings with 264 points, two wins, and seven Pole Positions.
The 2020 F1 campaign was difficult for Ferrari, as the car was down on power after the engine controversy around the legality of the engine at the end of 2019. Still, Leclerc scored a couple of podiums and finished eighth in the 2020 F1 championship with 98 points.
The 2021 F1 season saw a recovery from Ferrari and Leclerc even came close to winning the 2021 British Grand Prix, but he had to settle with P2. He had only one podium in 2021 but did record a couple of Pole Positions. He finished seventh in the WDC with 159 points.
Leclerc started 2022 by winning the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix from Pole Position and then won the third race of the season in Australia in a dominant fashion. After five races, Leclerc leads the World Drivers’ Championship with 104 points, with four podiums and a Pole Position.
The Monegasque superstar has worn some beautiful helmets throughout his career, especially with Ferrari. Charles Leclerc’s helmet designs in Formula 1 have gone from tributes to his father as well as Ferrari’s glorious racing history, depending on the site of the Grands Prix.
