A dream rookie season got even better for Charles Leclerc in the second half of 2018, after Scuderia Ferrari confirmed that their protege will partner Sebastian Vettel at the Maranello team this season. Here’s everything you need to know about one of the biggest moves in recent Formula 1 history.
Ferrari’s first Monegasque driver…
Charles is one of just three drivers born in Monaco to have raced in Formula 1 – Louis Chiron and Olivier Beretta are the other two – so Ferrari haven’t exactly had a big pool to choose from. So when the move was announced, not only was it an historic moment for the Italian squad – but Monaco can be proud too, with the nation set to be associated with the iconic team for the first time. That dream has now become a reality – and he will proudly fly the Monaco flag.
Their youngest driver since 1961
When he gets off the line at this year’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Charles will become the youngest driver to compete for Ferrari since the late Ricardo Rodriguez. The Mexican still holds the record as the youngest ever driver to race for Ferrari, after competing at the 1961 Italian Grand Prix aged 19 years and 208 days. He’ll hold onto that record too, given Charles will be 21 once the 2019 curtain-raiser arrives, but it’s certainly an achievement for the former Sauber star. Not many can say they drive for Ferrari at such a young age.
The youngest Ferrari race-winner
While some Ferrari fans may have been disappointed to see the team part ways with fan favourite Kimi Raikkonen last season, Charles Leclerc is regarded by many as an apt replacement, despite his young age. At 21 years of age, Charles only has one year of F1 experience under his belt, in which he secured ten top-ten finishes for a resurgent Sauber, but it’s surely only a matter of time before he turns points into race victories. And should he achieve that feat this season, (he turns 22 in October) he’ll become the 39th Ferrari race winner and, more importantly, the youngest ever in Ferrari’s history, surpassing Jacky Ickx who was 23 years old when he triumphed at the 1968 French Grand Prix.
Youngest world champion
Two years after claiming that stunning pole position and race victory in Monza, Sebastian Vettel made history again, this time with Red Bull, when he became the youngest ever F1 world champion aged, 23 years and 134 days. Since that incredible achievement on the final day of the 2010 season in Abu Dhabi, Seb has added a further three world titles to his trophy cabinet, while no young driver has been able to better his record.
But with a string of talent on the grid this year, that could well change. Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc – who both turn 22 during the closing stages of the season and are driving for competitive duo Red Bull and Ferrari respectively – perhaps have the best chance of ending Vettel’s dominant spell. No doubt the German and Lewis Hamilton will have something to say about that, though…
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