171-635: Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc ( French pronunciation: [ʃaʁl ləklɛʁ] ; born 16 October 1997) is a Monégasque racing driver , currently competing in Formula One for Ferrari . Leclerc was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 2022 with Ferrari, and has won eight Grands Prix across seven seasons. Born and raised in Monte Carlo , Leclerc began competitive kart racing aged seven. After
342-406: A transformative shift, echoing past pivots. The industry, much like the cars it champions , has had to navigate through a global pandemic and a persistent chip shortage, each threatening to derail production schedules . At the same time, a new course is being charted towards an electric future, a dramatic change in direction that is challenging the old guard of gasoline engines. There is also
513-631: A "manufacturer's" logo and "vehicle name", yet use components produced by another automobile manufacturer. There are also other stock car governing bodies, most notably the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). In the UK, British Stock car racing is also referred to as "Short Circuit Racing". UK Stock car racing started in the 1950s and grew rapidly through the 1960s and 1970s. Events take place on shale or tarmac tracks – usually around 1/4 mile long. There are around 35 tracks in
684-578: A Group 5 version of the BMW M1 . The first 'turbo era' of Formula One ended with the 1988 season. The 1.5-litre turbocharged engines were phased out in favour of naturally aspirated 3.5-litre engines. Massive demand for engine suppliers and a constant influx of new teams saw car manufacturers like Subaru , Porsche and Lamborghini enter Formula One as engine suppliers and sometimes buying out existing teams. Other projects never progressed beyond design studies, such as one carried out by Simtek for BMW. It
855-468: A Safety Car period. The crash caused a red flag. Starting from round 12 at Portimão, Leclerc went on to take three consecutive top-5 finishes. At the rain-hit Turkish Grand Prix , Leclerc was running in third place after producing a comeback from 14th on the intermediate tyres. However, a mistake while attempting to pass Sergio Pérez for second on the final lap resulted in Leclerc running wide and losing
1026-541: A Swiss licence in 2010 . For the 2006 season the team re-signed Nick Heidfeld from Williams to be their lead driver (Heidfeld drove for Sauber in 2001–2003), while 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve had his existing Sauber contract confirmed. Pole Robert Kubica was signed as the team's third driver . The team continued to use Sauber's facilities, mostly for chassis construction and wind tunnel testing, while BMW's headquarters in Munich were responsible for building
1197-687: A brake failure in the closing laps, colliding into the back of Brendon Hartley and forcing both cars into retirement. Three consecutive points finishes followed before a run of five races without points. This run included three retirements; a loose wheel in Britain , suspension damage after colliding with Sergio Pérez in Hungary , and a multi-car accident in Belgium caused by Nico Hülkenberg which resulted in Fernando Alonso being launched over
1368-547: A company founded for the sole purpose of building these engines, that were nearly identical to the ones used by Ferrari as Sauber was relegated to being a customer team after four years as an independent works partner team. Sauber licensed nearly every legally licensable part from Ferrari and even had several Ferrari engineers on staff. Many pointed out suspicious similarities between Ferrari and Sauber chassis, but no formal accusations were ever made ( FIA rules required each team to design their own chassis). In 2001, Sauber brought
1539-523: A controversial collision with teammate Vettel caused Leclerc's third retirement of the season in Brazil , ending both drivers' races. Leclerc ended the season with a third-place finish in Abu Dhabi . Leclerc ended the 2019 season in fourth place in the championship with 264 points, ahead of teammate Vettel. During his first season at Ferrari, he recorded ten podium finishes, two wins, four fastest laps, and
1710-427: A customer relationship but following BMW's decision to split from Williams at the end of 2005, BMW agreed to take ownership of the team from 1 January 2006, having bought Credit Suisse's shares in the team. Sauber's final Grand Prix before BMW takeover was the 2005 Chinese Grand Prix , with Massa, in his final race for the team having been promoted to Ferrari for the 2006 season, scoring a welcome sixth place to round off
1881-410: A distance of 8 mi (13 km). It was won by the carriage of Isaac Watt Boulton . Internal combustion auto racing events began soon after the construction of the first successful gasoline -fueled automobiles. The first organized contest was on April 28, 1887, by the chief editor of Paris publication Le Vélocipède , Monsieur Fossier. It ran 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from Neuilly Bridge to
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#17327918940542052-578: A drag race which they constantly were pushing each other until Leclerc finally took the lead and won by 1.293 seconds, his final victory in his last F2 race. In 2016, Leclerc joined the Ferrari Driver Academy and he acted as development driver for Haas F1 Team and Scuderia Ferrari . As part of his role as development driver, Leclerc participated in the first practice session of the British and German Grands Prix driving for Haas . It
2223-487: A driveshaft issue on his way to the grid. He qualified for back-to-back poles during Qualifying for the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix ., later finishing fourth. At the British Grand Prix at Silverstone , Leclerc qualified fourth but inherited the lead of the race on lap 1, passing Valtteri Bottas at the start and taking advantage of a collision between title rivals Verstappen and Hamilton . Leclerc held on to
2394-516: A first-lap collision with Max Verstappen. He would go on to finish the race in sixth place, his worst finish of the season. Leclerc took his seventh pole position of the year in Mexico after Verstappen—who had qualified in first place—was handed a grid penalty for a yellow flag infringement. He went on to finish the race in fourth place. After another fourth-place finish in the United States ,
2565-575: A fourth consecutive pole in Azerbaijan , which he dedicated to his late father, Hervé. He converted this into another win, although the race was red-flagged five laps before the scheduled end. In the sprint race, he started from eighth, and dropped to tenth early on, but fought back to sixth. The retirement of the race leader, his title rival Oliver Rowland , and De Vries, who was also ahead of Leclerc, meant Leclerc improved to fourth. He then passed Nicholas Latifi and Jordan King , and began to close on
2736-544: A gap Leclerc's tyres were "overheated badly" with several laps still to run, yet despite his tyres being "completely gone" by the end Leclerc managed to hold off a charging Rowland by 0.23 seconds, and claim the FIA Formula 2 championship in his rookie season in the main F1 feeder series. In claiming the championship, Leclerc became the youngest ever champion of the main support series for Formula 1 at 19 years, 356 days old, and
2907-734: A growing number of events for electric racing cars, such as the Formula E , the Eco Grand Prix or the Electric GT Championship . In single-seater ( open-wheel ) racing, the wheels are not covered, and the cars often have aerofoil wings front and rear to produce downforce and enhance adhesion to the track. The most popular varieties of open-wheel road racing are Formula One (F1), the IndyCar Series and Super Formula . In Europe and Asia, open-wheeled racing
3078-532: A huge crash that resulted in a long safety car period. The media was initially told Kubica had broken his leg, but it later emerged that he had escaped with only a sprained ankle and concussion. Sebastian Vettel took his place in the US Grand Prix , finishing in eighth place and therefore becoming the youngest driver to score a Formula One World Championship point. After the European GP , however, it
3249-707: A lap at 388 km/h (241 mph). The series' biggest race is the Indianapolis 500 , which is commonly referred to as "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" due to being the longest continuously run race in the series and having the largest crowd for a single-day sporting event (350,000+). The other major international single-seater racing series is Formula 2 (formerly known as Formula 3000 and GP2 Series ). Regional series include Super Formula and Formula V6 Asia (specifically in Asia), Formula Renault 3.5 (also known as
3420-492: A lap time in the final qualifying session. In what turned out to be a sensational rain-hit race, he made his way up to fourth in the early laps. A questionable tactic by his team's strategists of installing soft tyres despite the track being too wet culminated in him losing control and crashing into the barriers on lap 29, leading to his second retirement of the season. At the Hungarian Grand Prix , Leclerc suffered
3591-515: A mistake. At the Hungarian Grand Prix he qualified third behind his teammate but finished the race sixth after a strategic error made by Ferrari to place him on the hard compound tyres, despite other drivers such as Fernando Alonso losing significant lap time on them, Max Verstappen eventually took the win despite qualifying tenth and extended his lead in the Formula One World Championship to Leclerc by 80 points. After
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#17327918940543762-647: A month later. His older brother, Lorenzo, was best friends with Jules Bianchi , who was Leclerc's godfather until his death in 2015 . 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 is trilingual, fluent in French, Italian, and English. Although the French pronunciation of his name uses silent final consonants, he has stated that when speaking English he often uses
3933-482: A much easier time following and passing than in open-wheel racing . It often features full-contact racing with subtle bumping and nudging due to the small speed differentials and large grids. The major touring car championships conducted worldwide are the Supercars Championship (Australia), British Touring Car Championship , Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM), World Touring Car Championship and
4104-667: A new scheme for the team as a whole, with every individual getting "fit for pole", from the boss to the cleaners, meaning that the team would be in optimum fitness for the 2008 season. Team principal Mario Theissen targeted the team's first Formula 1 victory for 2008. BMW Sauber started the season well with Kubica narrowly missing out on pole after a mistake in his main qualifying lap in Melbourne . He later retired after being hit by Kazuki Nakajima but Heidfeld finished second. Kubica took second in Malaysia , with Heidfeld in sixth setting
4275-515: A new track record, and becoming the youngest Ferrari pole-sitter. Leclerc led for the majority of the race, but lost the lead and was overtaken by Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas due to his engine dropping a cylinder with a failed fuel injector. A late-race safety car prevented the charging Max Verstappen from taking third place, leading to the first podium of Leclerc's Formula One career. In China , Leclerc qualified fourth behind his teammate, Sebastian Vettel . After overtaking Vettel during
4446-841: A number of other racing series before its involvement in Formula One, including the Swiss Sportscar Championship and the World Sportscar Championship . The first Sauber car, C1, was built in 1970. Sauber, in partnership with Mercedes, won the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1989 and the World Sports Prototype Championship in 1989 and 1990 with the Sauber C9 and Mercedes-Benz C11 , respectively. Sauber also built
4617-550: A penalty, stripping away a double points finish. Both drivers went on to score points at the Japanese Grand Prix and Korean Grand Prix . The second half of the season gave more productive and consistent results; The drives of Kobayashi, Heidfeld and de la Rosa combined earned 44 points, giving the team eighth place in the Constructors' Championship. Kobayashi performed the team's season-best finish of sixth at
4788-450: A practical mode of transport, but soon became an important way for automobile makers to demonstrate their machines. By the 1930s, specialist racing cars had developed. There are now numerous different categories, each with different rules and regulations. The first prearranged match race of two self-powered road vehicles over a prescribed route occurred at 4:30 A.M. on August 30, 1867, between Ashton-under-Lyne and Old Trafford , England,
4959-438: A race win was likely after firmly establishing themselves as the best team behind championship leaders Ferrari and McLaren . Although the perceived performance gap between the two leaders and BMW Sauber was a fair amount, it was still less than that between BMW Sauber and the teams behind them. The Canadian Grand Prix brought mixed fortunes for the team. While Nick Heidfeld scored a second-place finish, Robert Kubica suffered
5130-525: A rear-end crash in qualifying but still completed the session. He ultimately finished the race in fourth place. At the first race after the summer break, the Belgian Grand Prix , Leclerc took his third pole position of the season alongside teammate Sebastian Vettel in second—the second Ferrari front-row lockout of the season. During the race, Leclerc fended off the charging Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton to record his maiden Grand Prix win, making him
5301-527: A shrinking list of constructors, they only scored 11 points and had not impressed for much of the season. For the next season they announced a customer deal to receive Ferrari V10 engines while they worked with new sponsors Petronas to construct their own engines. Unfortunately, due to a major economic crash in Asia the engines were never completed. Sauber used Ferrari designed customer engines (from 1997 to 2005) and gearboxes built by Sauber Petronas Engineering ,
Charles Leclerc - Misplaced Pages Continue
5472-426: A small, low-cost machine on small tracks. Many of the current top drivers began their careers in karts. Formula Ford represents the most popular first open-wheel category for up-and-coming drivers stepping up from karts. The series is still the preferred option, as it has introduced an aero package and slicks, allowing the junior drivers to gain experience in a race car with dynamics closer to F1. The Star Mazda Series
5643-418: A statement in response pledging its support to help the team remain in F1. On 15 September 2009, it was announced that BMW Sauber had secured a buyer, Qadbak Investments Limited which turned out to be a shell company . However, Lotus Racing had been given the 13th and final slot in the 2010 season. The team were awarded what was termed a 14th entry, which hinged either on another team dropping out or all
5814-515: A successful karting career—culminating in his victory at the junior direct-drive Karting World Cup in 2011—Leclerc graduated to junior formulae . He won his first championship at the 2016 GP3 Series with ART . Leclerc then won the inaugural FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2017 with Prema , becoming the fourth driver to win the GP2 / Formula 2 championship in their rookie season. Leclerc made his Formula One debut in 2018 with Sauber as part of
5985-478: A virtually unknown and very inexperienced Kimi Räikkönen into Formula One, despite the protests of a few drivers and influential members of the FIA, including Max Mosley , that he would pose a danger to other drivers. His performances that year, however, more than vindicated their decision (he would later go on to win the 2007 Drivers' Championship with Ferrari ). It also caused Red Bull to sell their majority share in
6156-448: A warning after it was clear he had been in contact with people not included in his bubble. In the qualifying session for the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix , he ended up 11th fastest in a full wet session and was knocked out in Q2. He was demoted to 14th after receiving a three-place penalty for impeding Daniil Kvyat in the session. In the race, Leclerc collided with his team-mate Sebastian Vettel on
6327-823: Is NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing). NASCAR's premier series is the NASCAR Cup Series , its most famous races being the Daytona 500 , the Southern 500 , the Coca-Cola 600 , and the Brickyard 400 . NASCAR also runs several feeder series, including the Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series (a pickup truck racing series). The series conduct races across the entire continental United States . NASCAR also sanctions series outside of
6498-448: Is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non-racing disciplines. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various types were organized, with the first recorded as early as 1867. Many of the earliest events were effectively reliability trials , aimed at proving these new machines were
6669-530: Is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 (as PP Sauber AG) by Peter Sauber , who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in 1993 . Sauber operated under their own name from 1993 until 2005 and from 2011 until 2018 . They were known as BMW Sauber from 2006 to 2010 and as Alfa Romeo from 2019 to 2023 in partnership deals with BMW and Alfa Romeo , respectively. Sauber returned in 2024 as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber , and
6840-651: Is a worldwide series that runs only street circuit and race tracks . These cars are heavily based on technology and their aerodynamics. The speed record was set in 2005 by Juan Pablo Montoya hitting 373 km/h (232 mph). Some of the most prominent races are the Monaco Grand Prix, the Italian Grand Prix , and the British Grand Prix . The season ends with the crowning of the World Championship for drivers and constructors. In
7011-650: Is another entry-level series. Indy Lights represent the last step on the Road to Indy , being less powerful and lighter than an IndyCar racer. Students at colleges and universities can also take part in single-seater racing through the Formula SAE competition, which involves designing and building a single-seater car in a multidisciplinary team and racing it at the competition. This also develops other soft skills, such as teamwork, while promoting motorsport and engineering. The world's first all-female Formula racing team
Charles Leclerc - Misplaced Pages Continue
7182-615: Is commonly referred to as 'Formula', with appropriate hierarchical suffixes. In North America, the 'Formula' terminology is not followed (with the exception of F1). The sport is usually arranged to follow an international format (such as F1), a regional format (such as the Formula 3 Euro Series), and/or a domestic, or country-specific, format (such as the German Formula 3 championship, or the British Formula Ford). F1
7353-563: Is set to be the Audi works team from 2026 onwards, with the German outfit planning to acquire the Swiss team. Having not won a Grand Prix as an independent, the team was rebranded to BMW Sauber in 2006 and competed as BMW Sauber from 2006 to 2009, finishing second in 2007 and third in 2008 in the Constructors' Championship, and scoring their lone grand prix victory together with Robert Kubica at
7524-564: Is set to remain at Ferrari until at least the end of the 2026 season. Outside of motor racing, Leclerc collaborated with pianist Sofiane Pamart on the extended play Dreamers (2024), which peaked at number two on the Billboard Classical Albums chart. Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc was born on 16 October 1997 in Monte Carlo , Monaco . Leclerc grew up as the middle child between older half-brother Lorenzo and younger brother Arthur . His father, Hervé Leclerc,
7695-923: Is the FIA World Endurance Championship . The main series for GT car racing is the GT World Challenge Europe , divided into two separate championships: the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup and the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup . This series has formed after the folding of the various FIA GT championships. The prevailing classes of GT cars are GT3 , GT4 and GT2 class cars. GT2 cars have powerful engines, often exceeding 600 horsepower. However, they have less downforce than GT3 cars and also have less driver aids. GT3 cars are far and away
7866-522: Is undergoing a period of transition, but is still the longest-running road racing series in the U.S. The National Auto Sport Association also provides a venue for amateurs to compete in home-built factory-derived vehicles on various local circuits. In sports car racing, production-derived versions of two-seat sports cars , also known as grand tourers (GTs), and purpose-built sports prototype cars compete within their respective classes on closed circuits. The premier championship series of sports car racing
8037-486: The 2007 season with Sebastian Vettel taking the test and reserve driver role. On 21 December, it was announced that Timo Glock had been signed as the team's second test driver. The team launched their 2007 car, the F1.07 , on 16 January 2007. The new car showed promising form throughout the winter testing, topping the times sheets on occasions. However, team principal Mario Theissen declared some reliability concerns before
8208-468: The 2008 Canadian Grand Prix . At the end of a less successful 2009 season, BMW pulled out of Formula One and the team's future remained uncertain for several months until total control was handed back to Peter Sauber and granted a 2010 entry. Due to issues with the Concorde Agreement , the team remained as "BMW Sauber" for the 2010 season. In March 2010, Peter Sauber announced plans to change
8379-605: The 2021 season, Leclerc extended his contract with Ferrari until the end of 2024. Leclerc had a new teammate at Ferrari for 2021 with Carlos Sainz Jr. replacing Sebastian Vettel, who signed for Aston Martin . Leclerc started the Bahrain Grand Prix in fourth behind Valtteri Bottas and finished sixth. He then started fourth and also finished fourth at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix behind Lando Norris after struggling to keep his pace after
8550-434: The 2021 Russian Grand Prix and started from 19th. He was in the top 5 at one point but fell to fifteenth by the end of the race after heavy rain fell and he was the last to pit for intermediate tyres. In Turkey , Leclerc would qualify fourth, but would start third after engine penalties for Lewis Hamilton . In Abu Dhabi , a decision to pit under a virtual safety car proved to be the wrong one as Leclerc failed to make up for
8721-626: The 2022 World Drivers' Championship . Following five pole positions and six podiums in his 2023 campaign, Leclerc won the Monaco Grand Prix in 2024 , becoming the first Monégasque driver to win the race in 93 years ; he achieved further victories in Italy and the United States As of the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix , Leclerc has achieved eight race wins, 26 pole positions, 10 fastest laps and 41 podiums in Formula One. Leclerc
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#17327918940548892-680: The 24 Hours of Le Mans , begun in 1923. It is run by the Automobile Club of the West (ACO). Team Ferrari won the race in 2023. With auto construction and racing dominated by France, the French automobile club ACF staged a number of major international races, usually from or to Paris, connecting with another major city, in France or elsewhere in Europe. Aspendale Racecourse , in Australia,
9063-634: The 24 Hours of Le Mans , the Rolex 24 at Daytona , 24 Hours of Spa -Franchorchamps, the 12 Hours of Sebring , the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen , and the 1,000-mile (1,600 km) Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta . There is also the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring on the famed Nordschleife track and the Dubai 24 Hour , which is aimed at GT3 and below cars with a mixture of professional and pro-am drivers. Production-car racing, otherwise known as "showroom stock" in
9234-544: The Australian Grand Prix . Leclerc scored his and Ferrari's first pole position of the 2023 season at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix , though he failed to convert it to a victory as Sergio Pérez took victory in both the sprint and main race. However, he was on the podium during both races. Racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing , motor racing , or automobile racing )
9405-532: The Austrian Grand Prix , he qualified on pole position, the second pole of his Formula One career. He subsequently finished second after colliding with Red Bull's Max Verstappen , having led for the major part of the race. The incident was investigated by the stewards after the race, who deemed it a racing incident and decided against taking action. At the British Grand Prix , Leclerc qualified in third ahead of Max Verstappen . He eventually finished
9576-550: The Canadian Grand Prix due to a grid penalty for exceeding his allocation for power unit components; he went on to finish the race in fifth. At the British Grand Prix , Leclerc finished fourth after losing out on pit strategy to his teammate. Leclerc then took first place at the Austrian Grand Prix . At the French Grand Prix he took pole position before crashing out of the race on lap 18, after making
9747-579: The FIA Formula 3 European Championship with Dutch team Van Amersfoort Racing . At the opening round of the season in Silverstone , Leclerc inherited pole position for the second and third races of the weekend after original pole-sitter Felix Rosenqvist was excluded for a technical infringement. He went on to take his first race victory in the third race of the weekend, ahead of Antonio Giovinazzi and Jake Dennis . He took his second victory at
9918-665: The Ferrari Driver Academy , scoring 10 points finishes in the C37 . He joined Ferrari for the 2019 season to partner Sebastian Vettel , and became the second-youngest driver to qualify on pole position at the Bahrain Grand Prix . Leclerc took his maiden career win in Belgium , before ending Ferrari's record nine-year drought at the Italian Grand Prix , which saw him nicknamed " il Predestinato " in Italian media. After winless seasons for Ferrari in 2020 and 2021 , Leclerc took several victories and finished runner-up to Max Verstappen in
10089-492: The Ferrari SF70H . He was the fastest on the first day of the test, running 98 laps in the process and he did not take part in the second day's test. Kimi Räikkönen also praised Leclerc saying "It's not easy to do well in a different car from what you normally drive. But Leclerc has shown great progress, and for sure he will do great things in the future". For the 2018 Formula One World Championship , Leclerc signed for
10260-553: The Formula One World Championship he pitted for soft tyres, the fastest compound tyres, to get the fastest lap point but could not beat Verstappen's time of 1:49.354. Leclerc finished in 5th place in front of Fernando Alonso but suffered a 5-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane, consequently finishing in 6th place. At the Dutch Grand Prix , he admitted that he had 'stopped counting'
10431-407: The German Grand Prix . Kubica finished seventh, although he was later disqualified for an underweight car. After the Hungarian Grand Prix, BMW announced that Kubica would complete the season for the Swiss team, spelling the end of former world champion Villeneuve's F1 career. Kubica scored BMW Sauber's second podium of the season at the Italian Grand Prix , after running in third place for most of
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#173279189405410602-404: The KF2 category in 2012 with the factory-backed ART Grand Prix team, winning the WSK Euro Series title, as well as finishing runner-up in the CIK-FIA European KF2 Championship and the CIK-FIA Under 18 World Karting Championship. In his final year of karting in 2013, Leclerc won the South Garda Winter Cup and claimed sixth position in the CIK-FIA European KZ Championship and finished second in
10773-469: The Macau Grand Prix . In December 2015, Leclerc partook in post-season testing with ART Grand Prix and Arden International . In February 2016, de Vries confirmed that Leclerc would race in the 2016 GP3 season . ART signed Leclerc the following week. With the team, he claimed three victories and took the title in his first year of the series, despite crashing out in the feature race of the season's final race in Abu Dhabi. The week following his victory in
10944-464: The Sauber F1 Team as a race driver, replacing Pascal Wehrlein and alongside Marcus Ericsson . This marked the first appearance of a Monégasque Formula One driver since Olivier Beretta in 1994 . At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix , a sixth-place finish saw him become the second Monégasque driver to score points in Formula One after Louis Chiron , who finished third at the 1950 Monaco Grand Prix . At his first home race in Formula One, Leclerc suffered
11115-404: The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix , Leclerc took a ten-place grid penalty after a new set of control electronics was installed on his car in breach of the allowed quota for the season. Starting from 12th on the grid, Leclerc was able to recover to a seventh-place finish behind his teammate Carlos Sainz . Leclerc retired for the second time in three races following a lap 1 collision with Lance Stroll at
11286-463: The WeatherTech SportsCar Championship starting in 2014. These races are often conducted over long distances, at least 1,000 km (621 mi), and cars are driven by teams of two or more drivers, switching every few hours. Due to the performance difference between production-based sports cars and purpose-built sports prototypes, one race usually involves several racing classes, each fighting for its own championship. Famous sports car races include
11457-518: The World Touring Car Cup . The European Touring Car Cup is a one-day event open to Super 2000 specification touring cars from Europe's many national championships. While Super GT traces its lineage to the now-defunct JGTC , the cars are much more similar to GT3 race cars than proper touring cars, and also have much more aggressive aerodynamics. The Sports Car Club of America 's SPEED World Challenge Touring Car and GT championships are dominant in North America. America's historic Trans-Am Series
11628-571: The 1970s. After using turbocharged Mercedes V8 engines in the 1980s, his team became the official factory team of Mercedes-Benz , reviving the Silver Arrow legend. The Swiss-German team won the 24 hours of Le Mans (in 1989 ) as well as the World Sports Prototype Championship (both in the 1989 season and 1990 season ), competing against Jaguar and Porsche . Among others, drivers such as Michael Schumacher , Karl Wendlinger , Heinz-Harald Frentzen , Jochen Mass , Jean-Louis Schlesser and Mauro Baldi raced for Sauber. Sauber participated in
11799-409: The 1980s and 1990s all over the United States. In North America, stock car racing is the most popular form of auto racing. Primarily raced on oval tracks , stock cars vaguely resemble production cars, but are in fact purpose-built racing machines that are built to tight specifications and, together with touring cars, also called Silhouette racing cars . The largest stock car racing governing body
11970-431: The 2010 season on 17 December 2009. Pedro de la Rosa was signed as Sauber's second driver on 19 January 2010. Before the Singapore Grand Prix , it was announced that Nick Heidfeld would replace de la Rosa for the remaining five races of the season. Esteban Gutiérrez later joined the team as a reserve driver, and drove during young drivers' testing after the end of the season. Despite promising pace in winter testing,
12141-404: The 2016 season to Swiss investment firm Longbow Finance S.A, with Pascal Picci taking over Peter Sauber's role as chairman of the board and president. Audi bought a minority stake in the team in January 2023 in preparation of their Formula One entry. The team operates in a 15,600 m (168,000 sq ft) facility in Hinwil , Switzerland . Peter Sauber began building sports cars in
12312-552: The 24 hours of Le Mans (held annually since 1923) and in the (European) Le Mans series , Asian Le Mans Series and the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship . These cars are referred to as LMP (Le Mans prototype) cars with LMH and LMDh cars being run mainly by manufacturers and the slightly less powerful LMP2 cars run by privateer teams. All three Le Mans Series run GT cars in addition to Le Mans Prototypes; these cars have different restrictions than
12483-511: The Anglicised pronunciation. He has said he "likes both", and that others using either pronunciation is acceptable to him. Leclerc has described his religious stance as "[believing] in God, but [not someone] who would pray or go to church." Since 2023, Leclerc has been in a relationship with Italian model and influencer Alexandra Saint Mleux. Leclerc began his karting career in 2005, winning
12654-529: The Austrian's serious accident in 1994 seemed to have taken a lot out of his driving potential and he was replaced after two races by rookie Jean-Christophe Boullion . The season, for Frentzen at least, went surprisingly well. The team finished with a record eighteen points despite the underperforming Ford engine and Jean-Christophe Boullion, who was again dropped, allowing Wendlinger to make his final Formula One appearance. They also climbed back up to seventh in
12825-472: The Belgian rounds, Leclerc again took pole and won the race by a convincing margin of over 20 seconds, however, his win was disqualified as one of his skid blocks was excessively worn. Having to start in 19th place, Leclerc got back up to fifth place and finished 3.8 seconds behind race winner Sérgio Sette Câmara . For the Italian feature race, Leclerc was battling for the lead; on the final lap, however, he
12996-612: The Bois de Boulogne. On July 22, 1894, the Parisian magazine Le Petit Journal organized what is considered to be the world's first motoring competition, from Paris to Rouen. One hundred and two competitors paid a 10- franc entrance fee. The first American automobile race is generally considered to be the Thanksgiving Day Chicago Times-Herald race of November 28, 1895. Press coverage of
13167-579: The CIK-FIA World KZ Championship, behind current Red Bull Formula One driver Max Verstappen . In 2014, Leclerc graduated to single-seaters , racing in the Formula Renault 2.0 Alps championship for British team Fortec Motorsports . During the season, he took seven podium positions, including a double victory at Monza , to finish runner-up in the championship behind Koiranen GP 's Nyck de Vries . Leclerc also won
13338-490: The Constructors' Championship. 1995 also saw Petronas become Sauber's presenting sponsor. They renewed their association in 2006, by which time the team had changed ownership. 1996 saw Sauber's worst Formula One season in terms of points despite a promising driver line-up in Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Johnny Herbert , a revised C15 and the new V10 Cosworth JD engine. Despite again holding seventh spot on
13509-604: The Drivers' Championship until the Chinese Grand Prix , the 17th round out of 18. In October 2008, the team confirmed that they would stick with Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld as their drivers for the 2009 season. Although BMW Sauber targeted the 2009 season as the year they would challenge for the title, their start to the season was a disappointment. Kubica was in third place in the opening round , when he collided with Vettel while battling for second place and
13680-655: The FIA GT cars. Another prototype and GT racing championship exists in the United States; the Grand-Am , which began in 2000, sanctions its own endurance series, the Rolex Sports Car Series , which consists of slower and lower-cost Daytona Prototype race cars compared to LMP and FIA GT cars. The Rolex Sports Car Series and American Le Mans Series announced a merger between the two series forming
13851-560: The Formula One World Championship. After a second-place finish in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix , Leclerc took a dominant victory in the Australian Grand Prix , achieving his first grand slam in Formula One, and Ferrari's first since the 2010 Singapore Grand Prix. At the Spanish Grand Prix , Leclerc led the race with a large margin until a power unit issue forced his retirement, handing Max Verstappen both
14022-908: The French PACA Championship in 2005, 2006, and 2008. In 2009 he became French Cadet champion before moving up to the KF3 class in 2010, where he won the Junior Monaco Kart Cup . He continued in the KF3 class for 2011, winning the CIK - FIA KF3 World Cup, the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy and the ERDF Junior Kart Masters. During the year, Leclerc also became a member of Nicolas Todt 's All Road Management company. Leclerc graduated to
14193-450: The GP3 title race, Charles Leclerc was confirmed to be graduating to the Formula 2 series for the 2017 season with Prema Racing , alongside fellow GP3 racer and Ferrari junior Antonio Fuoco . He made his debut at Bahrain , where he took pole position for the feature race, but only finished third. In the sprint race, his Prema team chose to take a mid-race pit stop, which is very uncommon in
14364-470: The Grand Prix scene, over the remainder of the season the team rarely saw the finish line due to unreliability and racing accidents. However, they proved their form was not a flash in the pan recording a slow stream of points finishes and rarely finishing outside the top ten when they actually completed a race distance. Despite not achieving a podium, they ended the season with twelve points, seventh out of
14535-703: The Junior Championship title at the final race of the season in Jerez , finishing ahead of teenager Matevos Isaakyan . Leclerc also took part in a partial Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season with Fortec as a guest driver. In the six races he contested he finished on the podium three times, taking a second place at the Nürburgring followed by a pair of second-place finishes at the Hungaroring . Leclerc graduated to Formula Three in 2015, racing in
14706-544: The KERS could not be made to fit the new car and both drivers raced without the device. After the qualifying session for the British Grand Prix Mario Theissen announced that the team had decided to halt further development of KERS; of which BMW had been one of the strongest proponents, and focus instead on improving the car's aerodynamics. This left Ferrari and McLaren as the only remaining users of
14877-606: The KERS system. In the European Grand Prix at Valencia, Kubica scored the team's first points since the race in Turkey. Following a meeting of the BMW board on 28 July, the company held a press conference the following morning in which it confirmed the team's withdrawal from Formula One at the end of 2009. Chairman Dr. Norbert Reithofer described the decision as a strategic one. The Formula One Teams Association released
15048-800: The UK and upwards of 7000 active drivers. The sport is split into three basic divisions – distinguished by the rules regarding car contact during racing. The most famous championship are the BriSCA F1 Stock Cars . Full-contact formulas include Bangers , Bombers, and Rookie Bangers – and racing features Demolition Derbies, Figure of Eight, and Oval Racing. Semi Contact Formulas include BriSCA F1, F2, and Superstox – where bumpers are used tactically. Non-contact formulas include National Hot Rods, Stock Rods, and Lightning Rods. Sauber Motorsport Sauber Motorsport AG currently competing in Formula One as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber and also known simply as Kick Sauber or Sauber ,
15219-604: The UK, the major club series are the Monoposto Racing Club , BRSCC F3 (formerly ClubF3, formerly ARP F3), Formula Vee and Club Formula Ford. Each series caters to a section of the market, with some primarily providing low-cost racing, while others aim for an authentic experience using the same regulations as the professional series (BRSCC F3). The SCCA is also responsible for sanctioning single-seater racing in much of North America. There are other categories of single-seater racing, including kart racing , which employs
15390-500: The US, is an economical and rules-restricted version of touring-car racing, mainly used to restrict costs. Numerous production racing categories are based on particular makes of cars. Most series, with a few exceptions, follow the Group N regulation. There are several different series that are run all over the world, most notably, Japan's Super Taikyu and IMSA 's Firehawk Series, which ran in
15561-551: The United States, including the NASCAR Canada Series , NASCAR Mexico Series , NASCAR Whelen Euro Series , and NASCAR Brasil Sprint Race . NASCAR also governs several smaller regional series, such as the Whelen Modified Tour . Modified cars are best described as open-wheel cars. Modified cars have no parts related to the stock vehicle for which they are named after. A number of modified cars display
15732-438: The United States, the most popular series is the IndyCar Series . The cars have traditionally been similar to, though less technologically sophisticated than, F1 cars , with more restrictions on technology aimed at controlling costs. While these cars are not as technologically advanced, they are faster, in part due to their lower downforce compared to F1 cars, and also because they compete on oval race tracks, being able to average
15903-681: The World Series by Renault, succession series of World Series by Nissan ), Formula Three , Formula Palmer Audi and Formula Atlantic . In 2009, the FIA Formula Two Championship brought about the revival of the F2 series. Domestic, or country-specific, series include Formula Three and Formula Renault, with the leading introductory series being Formula Ford . Single-seater racing is not limited merely to professional teams and drivers. There exist many amateur racing clubs. In
16074-567: The championship with 39 points. Scuderia Ferrari signed Leclerc for the 2019 season, replacing 2007 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen , who took his place at Sauber (which later rebranded to Alfa Romeo ). While initially only announced for 2019, a few days later, then-Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene indicated that Leclerc's contract was going to be four seasons long, running "at least until 2022." Leclerc made his first test day as an official Ferrari race driver in November 2018 during
16245-400: The end of season test. In his first Grand Prix driving for Ferrari, he started and finished in the fifth position at the Australian Grand Prix . In his second qualifying for Ferrari, at the Bahrain Grand Prix , he qualified on pole position for the first time in his Formula One career, having the fastest times in two of the three practice sessions and in all three qualifying sessions, setting
16416-400: The event first aroused significant American interest in the automobile. The Targa Florio was an open road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily , Italy near the island's capital of Palermo . Founded in 1906 , it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 and 1973. The oldest surviving sports car racing event is
16587-411: The fastest lap of the race. The team's points total of 11 was their largest score up to that time. In Bahrain , Kubica scored his and the team's first ever pole position, beating Felipe Massa by just under three hundredths of a second. The team went on to finish third and fourth in the race, equalling their highest round points total and promoting them to first place in the Constructors' Championship for
16758-441: The feature race, Leclerc dominated most of the early stint on soft tyres and was able to overtake most of the runners on the alternate strategy. With seven laps to go, however, Nobuharu Matsushita collided with Santino Ferrucci , which brought out the safety car. At the point that the race resumed, Leclerc was misinformed over team radio that it was the "last lap" even though there were four laps to go, so after pushing hard to build
16929-684: The final restart. In the build-up to the Styrian Grand Prix weekend, Leclerc and Ferrari were investigated by the FIA after allegedly breaching the governing body's strict COVID-19 safety protocols after returning home to Monaco (with permission from his team) in between the Austrian and Styrian Grands Prix events with social media posts showing Leclerc socialising with fans, friends and his girlfriend. Leclerc initially denied any wrongdoing. However, Leclerc and Scuderia Ferrari were given
17100-497: The first driver since Nico Hülkenberg in 2009 to win the championship in their rookie season (a feat which only Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton have previously accomplished) and is the only driver to claim a championship with the Dallara GP2/11 chassis in their rookie season. For the sprint race, Leclerc started in eighth place, however, due to his car's aggressive setup, he and his teammate, Antonio Fuoco, had to pit in
17271-525: The first half of the race before the team orchestrated an undercut in Leclerc's favour to let him retake the lead. Vettel retired from the race shortly after with a hybrid system failure, bringing out the virtual safety car . This greatly benefited the Mercedes drivers, who made their pit stops and eventually finished the race ahead of Leclerc in third. Leclerc qualified in second in Japan , but took damage in
17442-424: The first lap, causing them both to retire. Despite the fact the stewards took no action – viewing the collision as a racing incident and gave no penalties to either driver – Leclerc accepted full responsibility for the collision saying in one of his post-race interviews, "I've been a total asshole, today I fucked it up". At the next race, the Hungarian Grand Prix , Leclerc qualified sixth, one place behind Vettel. In
17613-510: The first time. The team also attained a second-place finish in the Monaco Grand Prix with Robert Kubica, beating both Ferraris and only trailing the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton by three seconds. BMW Sauber's first race victory came in the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix , the team achieving a one-two finish with Robert Kubica's first race win and Nick Heidfeld taking second place. The victory came after Lewis Hamilton collided with Kimi Räikkönen in
17784-542: The following round in Hockenheim , winning the third race as well as taking two additional podiums and three rookie victories over the course of the event. Leclerc scored his third win in the first race at Spa-Francorchamps which saw him take the lead in the championship. However, Leclerc finished fourth in the standings, mostly due to damage sustained to his car's chassis following a collision with Lance Stroll at Zandvoort . In November 2015, Leclerc finished second at
17955-562: The front of the car for the race in Magny-Cours, France, which was meant to direct airflow to the rear and thus improve performance. This unconventional add-on was promptly banned by the FIA as it was adjudged to impede the drivers' vision and thus compromise safety. Heidfeld scored the team's first podium at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix from tenth on the grid. Kubica stood in for Villeneuve, BMW stating that Villeneuve could not drive due to medical complications following his accident at
18126-545: The garage to save tyres, underestimating track evolution at the end of the qualifying session. He suffered a puncture and severe floor damage after a failed attempt to pass Nico Hülkenberg , leading to his second retirement at his home race. Leclerc qualified and finished third in Canada, his second podium finish, behind the controversial 1–2 finish of Hamilton and teammate Sebastian Vettel. He would finish third again in France . At
18297-520: The highest of the alternate strategy runners in Abu Dhabi (Soft then Super Soft) in fourth place (he had made it up till third until the final corner of the final lap where he was pipped by Antonio Fuoco). This position however was subsequently changed to second after the race winner, Oliver Rowland, and Fuoco were disqualified for excessive floor wear and under-inflated front tyres respectively. For Leclerc's final race, he started in seventh position. He
18468-783: The last step up to premier GT-class racing. Other major GT championships include the GT World Challenge America , GT World Challenge Asia , Super GT , and the International GT Open . There are minor regional and national GT series using mainly GT4 and GT3 cars featuring both amateur and professional drivers. Sports prototypes, unlike GT cars, do not rely on road-legal cars as a base. They are closed-wheel and often closed-cockpit purpose-built race cars intended mainly for endurance racing. They have much lower weight, more horsepower and more downforce compared to GT cars, making them much faster. They are raced in
18639-407: The lead of the race until 2 laps to go when he was ultimately caught and overtaken by Hamilton, finishing the race in second place and claiming his first and only podium of 2021. At the Hungarian Grand Prix , Leclerc was hit from the side by Lance Stroll on turn 1 and did not finish. In Italy , Leclerc finished in fifth, promoted to fourth after Sergio Pérez's penalty. Leclerc took grid penalties in
18810-526: The lost track position. This resulted in him finishing only tenth. Meanwhile, teammate Sainz finished third, moving him up to fifth in the drivers' standings and dropping Leclerc to seventh. This marked the first and only time Leclerc had been beaten by a teammate in his car racing career. Leclerc took pole in the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix , his tenth career F1 pole. He won the Grand Prix, his and Ferrari's first Formula 1 victory since 2019, battling closely with Red Bull driver Max Verstappen throughout
18981-495: The most pole positions of any driver that season, with seven. He also became the first Monégasque to win a Formula One World Championship Grand Prix (although Louis Chiron had won several Grands Prix before the inaugural championship in 1950 ). Leclerc qualified seventh for the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix . The team struggled for pace in the race but due to the chaotic nature of the race recovered to finish second with Leclerc pulling off crucial overtaking manoeuvres on fresh tyres after
19152-442: The most popular class of GT cars, with premier racing series such as the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA both using GT3 as their top class of GT car. GT3 cars have more significant aero than a GT2 car, but also have less horsepower, typically falling in between 500 and 550 horsepower. GT4 class cars have very little aerodynamics and less horsepower than GT3 machinery, typically around 450 horsepower. GT4 typically serves as
19323-571: The new P86 V8 engine. Former Sauber title sponsor Petronas renewed their contract with the new team after BMW Sauber snubbed BP - Castrol , despite them being BMW's official commercial gasoline and motor oil partner. Credit Suisse also continued their sponsorship. For the new season BMW Sauber announced a technical partnership with Intel and O2 , claiming that it will eventually lead to technological improvements available on BMW road cars. The new livery, unveiled in Valencia on 17 January 2006,
19494-479: The new leader, Nato. He passed Nato, but had been given a ten-second penalty for failing to slow for yellow flags, and therefore finished second. In Austria he took his fifth pole position, and then won the feature race from pole despite coming under pressure from teammate Fuoco, and towards the end, the DAMS of Latifi. He would retire from the sprint race after colliding with Fuoco and spinning out. By taking pole for
19665-475: The non-Ferrari teams over planned rule changes at the end of the 2004 season and also joined up with the GPWC . Then they decided to switch to Michelin tyres, while Ferrari continued to use Bridgestone tyres. Meanwhile, beverage company Red Bull left Sauber in 2005 as they bought their own team, Red Bull Racing . Sauber had secured a deal with BMW for a supply of their engines from 2006, initially expected to be on
19836-464: The oldest car racing series still active in the world. The first TC competition took place in 1931 with 12 races, each in a different province. Future Formula One star Juan Manuel Fangio (Chevrolet) won the 1940 and 1941 editions of the TC. It was during this time that the series' Chevrolet-Ford rivalry began, with Ford acquiring most of its historical victories. Over the last few years, auto racing has seen
20007-511: The oldest existing purpose-built and still in use automobile race course in the United States is the 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km) Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana . It is the largest capacity sports venue of any variety worldwide, with a top capacity of some 257,000+ seated spectators. NASCAR was founded by Bill France Sr. on February 21, 1948, with the help of several other drivers. The first NASCAR " Strictly Stock " race ever
20178-426: The opening events of the 2020 Formula One World Championship as part of the sports anti-racism campaign. He stated that he chose not to take a knee due to the negative political connotations he felt such a gesture could have. At the 2020 Italian Grand Prix he qualified thirteenth but in the race, he crashed out at Parabolica on lap 24, while he was in fourth, thanks to a pitstop earlier than others who pitted during
20349-462: The other teams agreeing to allow 28 cars to enter the 2010 Championship. On 27 November 2009, it was announced that Peter Sauber would repurchase the team conditional upon the team receiving a FIA entry for the 2010 season. On 3 December 2009, the FIA confirmed that Sauber had been granted the entry vacated by Toyota Racing following their withdrawal and would be using Ferrari engines. Peter Sauber had previously announced, on 29 November, that
20520-533: The pit in ninth. In the last few laps of the race, Kobayashi overtook the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso and the Toro Rosso of Sébastien Buemi for a seventh-place finish. The impressive drive from Kobayashi received much acclaim and was Sauber's best result of the season to-date. Pedro de la Rosa meanwhile, despite originally crossing the line in tenth position to secure 1 point, was relegated to 12th place after
20691-459: The pitlane, ending the race for both drivers. Kubica was on a different refuelling strategy from Heidfeld, who also briefly led the race before securing the one-two finish for BMW Sauber in comfortable fashion. This was the first Formula One victory for a BMW engine since the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix . After the team's breakthrough win, development was switched to the 2009 season where new regulations come into play. This greatly annoyed Kubica, (who
20862-468: The podium to teammate Vettel. The doubleheader in Bahrain was rather forgettable for Leclerc, who finished tenth in the first race and retired after a first-lap collision with Pérez in the second. At the final round in Abu Dhabi, both Ferraris lacked pace and finished outside the points, with Leclerc in 13th ahead of Vettel. Leclerc finished the championship in eighth, scoring 98 points. At the beginning of
21033-513: The points deficit to Verstappen. He started 2nd and finished 3rd after losing his second-place position to Mercedes' George Russell . Leclerc took pole position at Ferrari's home race in Italy at the Monza Circuit , but due to a team decision from Ferrari to pit under a Virtual safety car , he lost the race lead to Red Bull's Max Verstappen and took the checkered flag in second place due to
21204-447: The race and leading briefly during the first round of pit stops. Heidfeld struggled in the race and barely earned a point by finishing eighth. The team's fifth place in the Constructors' Championship was cemented by Heidfeld's two further points at the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix , and Toyota's early double retirement from the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix . On 19 October 2006, it was announced that Robert Kubica would partner Nick Heidfeld for
21375-742: The race ending under a safety car. Leclerc took pole position at the Singapore Grand Prix , he finished in second place to Red Bull's Sergio Pérez who had taken the lead at the first corner. In the final race of the 2022 season, at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix , Leclerc and Sergio Pérez faced off for second place in the Drivers' Championship tied at an even 290 points each. Despite starting the race in P3, one place behind Perez in P2, Leclerc overtook his competitor and held on to finish P2 in
21546-491: The race in third place and was also voted 'Driver of the day' for defending his position against numerous attacks by Verstappen during the early stages of the race. This was his fourth consecutive podium finish of the season. Despite having finished in the top two in all the three practice sessions, Leclerc qualified in tenth place at the German Grand Prix after an issue with the fuel system prevented him from setting
21717-437: The race victory and the World Championship lead. After taking pole position at his home race in the Monaco Grand Prix , Leclerc finished the race in 4th place due to strategical error and a wet track. The next race in Azerbaijan saw Leclerc retire from the lead yet again with a power unit failure, which put him at third in the drivers' standings behind Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez . Leclerc started 19th for
21888-424: The race, Leclerc struggled with tyre wear and general lack of speed and finished in 11th place, five places behind teammate Vettel. Leclerc qualified fourth at the British Grand Prix and went on to finish third, claiming the 12th podium finish of his F1 career and second of the season. For the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix Leclerc qualified eighth. He subsequently pulled off a one-stop strategy to advance to fourth in
22059-402: The race, securing both 2nd place in the Drivers' Championship for himself as well as 2nd in the Constructors' Championship for Ferrari. During the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix , the first race of 2023 Formula One World Championship , Leclerc's car suffered technical problems, forcing the driver to end the race prematurely during lap 41 while on course for a third-place finish. The following race, at
22230-491: The race. Before competing in the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix in 2020 at Silverstone , Leclerc reacted angrily to accusations that he was racist and opposed to the Black Lives Matter movement, responding by saying racism is "disgusting" and accusing headlines of attempting to manipulate his words. The accusations came after he was one of six drivers who opted not to take a knee during the pre-race ceremonies of
22401-437: The race. His Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. finished second for a Ferrari 1–2. Leclerc received 25 points, plus an additional 1 point for the fastest lap of the race, bringing his total to 26. The result meant he and Ferrari took the lead in the Drivers' and Constructors' Championship respectively. In doing so, he led the Formula One World Championship for the first time, and also became the first-ever Monégasque driver to lead
22572-483: The red flag at the middle of the race. He spent half of the race without a radio. Leclerc then finished sixth at the Portuguese Grand Prix which placed him fifth in the points standings, above his teammate Sainz, who finished 11th in the race. He qualified on pole for his home event - the Monaco Grand Prix despite crashing in the final part of qualifying but was unable to start the race due to suffering
22743-569: The reduction of the schedule from 56 to 34 races a year, established 1972 as the beginning of NASCAR's "modern era". The IMSA GT Series evolved into the American Le Mans Series , which ran its first season in 1998. The European races eventually became the closely related European Le Mans Series , both of which mix prototypes and GTs. Turismo Carretera (TC) is a popular touring car racing series in Argentina, and one of
22914-488: The role as Karl Wendlinger's teammate. Early signs showed the team was, rather disappointingly, delivering similar performances to the previous year, scoring a small tally of points in the opening rounds. The season took a turn for the worse after a fourth place by Wendlinger following the tragic deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger at the San Marino Grand Prix . Just two weeks later, Wendlinger
23085-524: The season's opening race in Melbourne . Kubica duly retired from fourth place mid-race with gearbox trouble, but Nick Heidfeld proved their pace in winter testing was no fluke as he raced to fourth place. Heidfeld continued this success with two more fourth places in Malaysia and Bahrain respectively. Kubica finished sixth in Bahrain after retiring in Australia and mechanical trouble in Malaysia. Their performance thus far had been such that many were saying
23256-528: The shorter sprint races. He pushed harder on his medium Pirelli tyres, creating a nine-second lead before pitting. This would drop him down to 14th place, but Leclerc overtook 13 cars and took victory by overtaking Luca Ghiotto on the final lap. After taking pole position for the second time in a row, he then fought off Ghiotto to win again in the Catalunya feature race, despite a radio issue. Leclerc did not score any points at his home round at Monaco . He
23427-506: The sixth time for the next race, at Silverstone, he matched the record for most pole positions in a row, which was set by Stoffel Vandoorne in 2014 and 2015 , when the series were called GP2 Series . He won the feature race, even after his car set alight during the race, and even after one of his wing mirrors detached in the closing stages. He would not start from pole in Hungary, despite taking his seventh successive pole position, as he
23598-711: The sport, former Formula 2 champion Jonathan Palmer reopened the F2 category again; most drivers have graduated from the Formula Palmer Audi series. The category is officially registered as the FIA Formula Two championship. Most rounds have two races and are support races to the FIA World Touring Car Championship . Touring car racing is a style of road racing that is run with production-derived four-seat race cars. The lesser use of aerodynamics means following cars have
23769-469: The sprint race. Due to the aggressive pace of Leclerc however, he rose through the field, yet because of the excessive wear on his tyres, he conceded three positions on the final lap and finished in seventh position. For the final rounds at Abu Dhabi, Leclerc qualified in sixth place for the Feature race, his lowest starting position all season excluding penalties. Despite this, however, he managed to finish
23940-586: The start, he was asked to yield and let Vettel pass, eventually finishing the race in fifth. In Azerbaijan , he was the favourite for pole position until a crash in the second qualifying session ended his contention. He started eighth after penalties for the two Alfa Romeos and finished the race fifth with an extra point for the fastest lap of the race. At the following race in Monaco , he was eliminated in Q1 and started 15th due to Ferrari's erroneous strategy that kept him in
24111-403: The summer break was the Belgian Grand Prix which saw Leclerc start in 15th place, behind Verstappen as both drivers took grid place penalties for the use of additional power unit and gearbox elements. Despite working his way through the grid well he had to pit eventually for mediums due to a tear-off in his brake ducts. The pitstop cost Leclerc a podium finish. In order to gain some more points in
24282-533: The team in 2010 . His victory at Monza saw him nicknamed "il Predestinato" in Italian media, meaning "the Predestined". He scored his third consecutive pole in Singapore . Initially leading the race, he finished in second place after he was undercut by teammate Vettel. In Russia , he took his fourth consecutive pole position and his sixth of the season. Vettel passed Leclerc into the first corner and led for
24453-446: The team in 2005. At the end of the 2005 season, the team's majority shareholding previously owned by Credit Suisse was bought by BMW , with Peter Sauber retaining a 20% stake, and was renamed BMW Sauber . BMW sold its part back to Peter Sauber after the end of the 2009 season, but the team formally used the name BMW Sauber until the end of the 2010 season. The team held a German licence from 2006 to 2009 , then reverted to
24624-401: The team name but the FIA announced that they would have to wait until the end of the season. At the beginning of the 2011 season, the team dropped BMW from their name. Until mid-2016, Peter Sauber held a controlling 66.6% stake in the team, with the remainder belonging to then CEO Monisha Kaltenborn ; she had been a leading figure in the team since BMW's withdrawal. The team was sold during
24795-570: The team struggled with technical problems in the early rounds of the season, with no points from the first six races. After running a blank livery for the first four races of the 2010 season, the team finally announced a sponsorship deal with the Burger King fast food franchise at the Spanish and European Grands Prix . During frustrations, Peter Sauber admitted that his decision to rescue the team had been emotionally driven, but insisted that it
24966-498: The team to Credit Suisse in protest (Red Bull wanted Enrique Bernoldi to take the seat but he wound up at Arrows ). In 2004, Sauber spent a large sum of money on a new wind tunnel at Hinwil , and a high performance supercomputer (called Albert ) to help refine the aerodynamics of their cars. The state-of-the-art infrastructure Sauber has built up is one aspect that attracted BMW Motorsport to Sauber. In its later years, Sauber's links with Ferrari became weaker. They sided with
25137-475: The team's chassis for the 2010 season would be designated Sauber C29, while the Swiss newspaper Blick reported that the team will be called Team Sauber F1 . However, in January 2010, Peter Sauber had said that he had not yet applied for a change of name, so therefore they remained for the season as BMW Sauber F1 Team despite zero BMW components. Kamui Kobayashi was announced as their first signed driver for
25308-462: The team's history. Sauber had finished its independent run in F1 with six third places and two front-row starts being their best results. Among notable Sauber drivers were Jean Alesi , 2008 Drivers' Championship runner-up Felipe Massa , Johnny Herbert , and 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve . Two former Sauber drivers drove for the new BMW Sauber team in 2006: Nick Heidfeld who was a Sauber driver from 2001 to 2003, and Villeneuve who drove for
25479-543: The thirteen original entries. The team went into the 1994 season as Sauber Mercedes, now officially Mercedes's factory-backed team with a new car in the Sauber C13 and the Ilmor engine rebadged the Mercedes 3.5 V10. New team Pacific Grand Prix Ltd took a customer supply of more dated Ilmor units. Between seasons Lehto had signed to Mild Seven Benetton Ford . Former Sauber sports car driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen took up
25650-534: The top of Leclerc's car. More points finishes came with ninth in Singapore and seventh in Russia , before retirements from a mechanical failure in Japan and damage from a collision with Romain Grosjean in the United States . He ended the season with three consecutive seventh-place finishes in the final three races. Leclerc out-qualified teammate Ericsson seventeen times from twenty-one races and finished 13th in
25821-469: The works Ford engine deal from Benetton. The 1995 season and Sauber C14 marked the beginning of a ten-year sponsorship deal with energy drink giant Red Bull . Entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz had purchased a majority share in the team and Fritz Kaiser joined as commercial director. They landed a factory supply of Ford ECA Zetec-R V8 engines from Benetton . The 1995 season saw the return of Karl Wendlinger partnering Heinz-Harald Frentzen. Unfortunately,
25992-449: The youngest ever Ferrari race winner. After the race, he dedicated his maiden victory to his former competitor Anthoine Hubert , who was killed in an accident during the previous day's Formula 2 feature race at the same circuit. At the Italian Grand Prix , Leclerc won the race from pole position after defending his position from both Mercedes drivers and became the first Ferrari driver to win at Monza since Fernando Alonso won there for
26163-427: Was a pivotal moment in Formula One history. Together with the death of Ayrton Senna , it later prompted the mandatory implementation of head protection for drivers in the form of high cockpit sides. Sauber voluntarily pioneered prototypes of these to protect their drivers. They would finish the season with the same points tally as the previous year but finished only eighth out of the fourteen original entrants. Mercedes
26334-466: Was a racing driver who competed in Formula Three in the 1980s and 1990s, whilst his mother, Pascale Leclerc, is a former hairdresser . Hervé died after a long illness, aged 54, four days before Leclerc won the feature race at the 2017 Baku Formula 2 round . Two days before his death, Leclerc lied to his father that he had signed a Formula One contract for the 2018 season; he signed with Sauber
26505-451: Was a reference to Peter Sauber's wife Christine). It was to be driven by JJ Lehto and Karl Wendlinger . The car's racing debut took place in the first race of 1993 , in South Africa. The car was soon turning heads not only for its sharp FW14 -like lines and striking black livery but its impressive performance, claiming fifth place (two points under the scoring system at the time) on its Grand Prix debut. Despite this impressive entrance to
26676-469: Was a turbulent time that led to the withdrawal of many small teams and even more famous marques such as Brabham and Lotus . A planned Mercedes collaboration with Sauber to enter their own Formula One team was shelved, although behind closed doors Mercedes continued to fund Sauber's Formula One project. The team was to be powered by V10 Ilmor engines in a chassis dubbed the C12, a continuation of Sauber's naming policy from sports car construction (the 'C'
26847-417: Was announced by Scuderia Toro Rosso that Vettel would take the second driver seat from Scott Speed . On 21 August 2007, BMW confirmed its driver line-up of Heidfeld and Kubica for the 2008 season. Their 2008 car, the F1.08 was officially launched in Munich at BMW Welt on 14 January 2008. It made its track debut at Valencia the next day, with Robert Kubica driving. The BMW Sauber team also introduced
27018-405: Was believed that if Leclerc won the GP3 Series championship, he would follow Daniil Kvyat and Valtteri Bottas direct from GP3 into F1 with Haas. However this was debunked by Haas team principal Guenther Steiner who said that Leclerc would progress to the 2017 FIA Formula 2 Championship . In 2017, he took part in the mid-season Hungaroring test following the Hungarian Grand Prix , driving
27189-415: Was created in 2006. The group was an assemblage of drivers from different racing disciplines and formed for an MTV reality pilot, which was shot at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca . In December 2005, the FIA gave approval to Superleague Formula racing, which debuted in 2008, whereby the racing teams are owned and run by prominent sports clubs such as A.C. Milan and Liverpool F.C. After 25 years away from
27360-440: Was disqualified for a technical infringement. Despite starting from the back, he was in 12th position by turn 1. Using an alternative tyre strategy that saw him start on the medium tyres, Leclerc was stuck behind Alexander Albon , who was on the same strategy, although he eventually got past and would finish fourth. He would also finish fourth in the sprint race the next day, giving him a 50-point championship lead over Rowland. For
27531-414: Was dissatisfied with the progress and left the team at the end of the year, enticed by an offer from the McLaren team which was still looking for a new works deal since Honda withdrew from the sport and an also-disappointing partnership with Peugeot (whose engines went to Jordan ). The partnership would see Team McLaren Mercedes take their first win in 1997 and both titles in 1998 but left Sauber to pick up
27702-405: Was forced to retire. Heidfeld then secured the team's first podium of the year in Malaysia , but after six races BMW Sauber had collected a mere six points, and occupied eighth place in the Constructors' Championship out of ten teams. A raft of upgrades were set for Turkey , including an improved regenerative braking system (KERS) and a double deck diffuser. While the new diffuser was implemented,
27873-518: Was held on June 19, 1949, at Daytona Beach, Florida , U.S.. From 1962, sports cars temporarily took a back seat to GT cars , with the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) replacing the World Championship for Sports Cars with the International Championship for GT Manufacturers. From 1962 through 2003, NASCAR's premier series was called the Winston Cup Series, sponsored by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company cigarette brand Winston . The changes that resulted from RJR's involvement, as well as
28044-481: Was initially able to make up two places but was running slower than the race leaders Alexander Albon and Nicholas Latifi . As the race progressed, however, Leclerc started gaining time compared to his rivals and managed to take Latifi with a few laps to go. For the final three laps, DRS was disabled and yellow flags in the final sector meant that Leclerc was stuck behind Albon, however on the final lap, both drivers tangled, triggered by Leclerc nudging Albon, and both had
28215-416: Was involved in an accident with De Vries. After starting towards the back of the grid for the second consecutive sprint race, Leclerc managed to fight his way back to ninth position, albeit out of the points. With a 57-point margin over Rowland heading into the penultimate rounds at Jerez, Leclerc gained his eighth pole position of the season, with both of his timed laps being good enough for pole position. In
28386-448: Was leading the championship after the Canadian Grand Prix), as he felt they could have had a realistic chance of taking at least one title. The lack of development was reflected with a drop of form throughout the second half of the season, causing BMW to be outpaced by Renault, Toyota and even Toro Rosso (who started the season as one of the slowest teams) by the end of the season. Despite this, Kubica remained with an outside chance of taking
28557-438: Was on pole but retired from the lead of the race with a suspension problem. The retirement also meant he would start the sprint race from the back of the grid, and in this race, he collided with Norman Nato whilst trying to make his way up the grid, which ultimately resulted in both drivers retiring from the race. He retained the championship lead despite the bad weekend, which he described as 'hugely disappointing'. Leclerc took
28728-434: Was proper. Finally, in Turkey , Kobayashi finished tenth, collecting the team's first championship point for the season. At the European Grand Prix in Valencia, after qualifying in 18th place, Kobayashi spent a vast proportion of the race in third position defending from Jenson Button who was following closely behind in fourth. After entering the pits during the closing stages of the race to switch tyres, Kobayashi exited
28899-410: Was seriously injured after crashing in practice for the Monaco Grand Prix ; losing control of his car under braking for the Nouvelle Chicane. He suffered serious head injuries which left him in a coma for weeks and he was sidelined for the rest of the season. He was replaced by Andrea de Cesaris and a returning Lehto who had been replaced at Benetton after injury complications. The Wendlinger accident
29070-436: Was the traditional BMW M blue and white with red flashes. Jacques Villeneuve scored the team's first points with a seventh-place finish at the 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix , after Heidfeld retired from fifth with an engine failure late in the race. Over the first two-thirds of the season the drivers picked up points with a succession of seventh- and eighth-place finishes. The team ran a radical "twin towers" aero enhancement on
29241-419: Was the world's first purpose-built motor racing circuit , opening in January 1906. The pear-shaped track was close to a mile in length, with slightly banked curves and a gravel surface of crushed cement. Brooklands , in Surrey, England, was the first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing venue, opening in June 1907. It featured a 4.43 km (2.75 mi) concrete track with high-speed banked corners. One of
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