in , completing four
free practice sessions with
Haas.|alt=Leclerc driving the Haas VF-16 in free practice at the 2016 British Grand Prix, ahead of Felipe Massa In , Leclerc joined the
Ferrari Driver Academy and signed as a development driver for
Haas and
Ferrari. He made his testing debut at
Fiorano two months later, driving the
Ferrari F14 T. After impressing Ferrari at the former, he completed his first official test for the team at
Silverstone in the
SF16-H. He was initially rumoured to graduate directly to Formula One with Haas after winning the
2016 GP3 Series; team principal
Guenther Steiner denied the rumours and stated that Leclerc would instead progress to
FIA Formula 2. in , as well as the mid-season test with
Ferrari.|alt=Leclerc driving the Sauber C36 in free practice at the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix Leclerc took part in the mid-season test at the
Hungaroring with Ferrari—driving the
SF70H—completing 98 laps and setting the fastest lap of the first day.
Kimi Räikkönen praised his performance, stating "it's not easy to do well in a different car from what you normally drive", adding that "for sure he will do great things in the future". Leclerc completed further free practice sessions with
Sauber at the
Malaysian,
United States,
Mexican, and
Brazilian Grands Prix. With his debut at the , Leclerc became the
first Monégasque driver to compete in Formula One since
Olivier Beretta in . He qualified eighteenth and finished thirteenth on debut. After non-scoring finishes in
Bahrain and
China, a sixth-placed finish at the saw him become the first Monégasque driver to score
points in Formula One since
Louis Chiron in
1950. He scored another point by finishing tenth at the . At his first
home Grand Prix in Monaco, Leclerc suffered a brake failure in the closing laps, colliding with the
diffuser of
Brendon Hartley into the
Nouvelle Chicane and forcing his first career retirement. Three consecutive points finishes followed in
Canada,
France, and
Austria, before going five races without points. This run included three retirements: a loose wheel in
Britain,
suspension damage after colliding with
Esteban Ocon and
Sergio Pérez in
Hungary, and a multi-car collision in
Belgium. Further points finishes came with ninth- and seventh-place at the
Singapore and
Russian Grands Prix, respectively, before retirements from a mechanical failure in
Japan and damage from a collision with
Romain Grosjean in the
United States. Leclerc closed his rookie season with three consecutive seventh-placed finishes in
Mexico,
Brazil, and
Abu Dhabi. Leclerc finished thirteenth in the
World Drivers' Championship, with 39 points to teammate Ericsson's nine, Then-team principal
Maurizio Arrivabene stated that his contract would run until 2022. Leclerc entered the 2018 post-season test with Ferrari at
Yas Marina, setting the fastest time in the
SF71H. He debuted for the team at the , qualifying and finishing fifth. In
Bahrain, Leclerc took his maiden
pole position to become the
second-youngest polesitter in Formula One history. He led the majority of the race before suffering an engine issue with 10 laps remaining; overtaken by both
Mercedes drivers, he finished third, securing his maiden podium finish. Leclerc finished fifth in
China,
Azerbaijan, and
Spain—behind Vettel at the former and latter after being
ordered to let him pass. At the , he qualified sixteenth following a team strategy error; he suffered a race-ending tyre puncture after an overtake attempt on
Nico Hülkenberg. Leclerc qualified and finished third at both the
Canadian and
French Grands Prix. He took pole at the , finishing second to
Max Verstappen after his overtake on the third-to-last lap, during which they made contact—the stewards' investigation deemed it a
racing incident. The pair engaged in a close battle throughout the , with Leclerc finishing ahead in third to secure his fourth consecutive podium. He qualified in tenth-place in
Germany amidst a fuel system issue; he climbed to fourth in the rain-affected race before being called in for
dry tyres too early, causing him to lose traction and collide with the barriers. He then finished fourth in
Hungary. , which saw him nicknamed
il Predestinato in Italian media.|alt=Leclerc racing against Lewis Hamilton at the 2019 Italian Grand Prix, with dirt being kicked up by Hamilton's tyres, who is partially off-track Leclerc took pole for the , fending off
Lewis Hamilton to become the
third-youngest Formula One Grand Prix winner—aged 21—as well as the
first Monégasque. He dedicated his victory to
Anthoine Hubert, who was
killed the day prior in FIA Formula 2. his victories saw him nicknamed
il Predestinato () in Italian media. He took pole again in
Singapore and finished second after being
undercut by teammate Vettel, promoting him to third in the championship. Leclerc described the strategy as "unfair", to which team principal
Mattia Binotto responded that Vettel was allowed to pit first to defend his position. In
Russia, he took his fourth consecutive pole and finished third, after a
virtual safety car saw both Mercedes drivers pass Leclerc with shortened
pit stops. He qualified second at the but took damage in a first-lap collision with Verstappen after
understeering into his sidepod; he finished sixth. Leclerc finished fourth at the
Mexican and
United States Grands Prix, inheriting pole at the former after a
grid penalty for Verstappen. A collision with Vettel caused both drivers to retire from the , with Leclerc dropping below Verstappen in the standings. Both were reprimanded by Binotto, who stated they "should be sorry for the team". Leclerc finished the season-ending in third-place, clinching fourth in the World Drivers' Championship with 264
points, 24 ahead of teammate Vettel in fifth. In addition to winning the
FIA Pole Trophy with seven poles,
2020–2021: Winless seasons for Ferrari ) achieved two podiums in , driving the
SF1000.|alt=From above, Leclerc parked in the pit lane, with mechanics putting tyre blankets on his Ferrari SF1000 at 2020 Formula One pre-season testing The season was
delayed and shortened due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, whilst Ferrari struggled for performance with the
SF1000. Leclerc qualified seventh for the season-opening ; he recovered to third-place in the race via several overtakes following the final
safety car, promoted to second after a penalty for
Lewis Hamilton. In the build-up to the , Leclerc was investigated by the
FIA for allegedly breaching
COVID-19 safety protocols whilst returning home to
Monte Carlo; both Leclerc and Ferrari were given a warning for the incident. In Styria, Leclerc collided with teammate
Sebastian Vettel on the first lap, causing them both to retire. Leclerc took full responsibility for the collision. After finishing eleventh at the , Leclerc secured another podium at the following a late puncture for
Valtteri Bottas. Prior to the
70th Anniversary Grand Prix, Leclerc faced allegations of
racism for opting to not
take the knee during pre-race ceremonies; he responded by stating that racism is "disgusting" and accusing media outlets of manipulating his words, adding that he wanted to avoid promoting
violent protest. He successfully completed a one-stop tyre strategy in the race, finishing fourth after qualifying eighth, stating that it "[felt] like victory". Leclerc suffered reliability issues at the
Spanish and
Belgian Grands Prix, retiring from the former and finishing fourteenth at the latter. At the , he qualified thirteenth before colliding with a tyre barrier at the
Curva Parabolica and causing a
red flag whilst running in fourth. He then finished seven consecutive races in the
points from
Tuscany to
Bahrain, with top-five finishes at the
Portuguese,
Emilia Romagna, and
Turkish Grands Prix; at the latter, Leclerc lost a podium finish during a last-lap overtake attempt on
Sergio Pérez for second, having qualified for the rain-affected race in fourteenth. He retired from the after a first-lap collision with Pérez—for which he was given a three-place
grid penalty—having qualified fourth. Ferrari struggled for pace at the season-ending , with Leclerc finishing thirteenth. He ended the season eighth in the standings with two podiums and 98 points, 65 ahead of teammate Vettel in thirteenth, at the
Monaco and
Azerbaijan Grands Prix in .|alt=Leclerc driving the Ferrari SF21 at the 2021 British Grand Prix Leclerc was partnered by
Carlos Sainz Jr. at Ferrari for his campaign. He started the in fourth and finished sixth. He then finished fourth at the amidst a radio issue. His sixth-placed finish in
Portugal dropped him to fifth in the standings, before he finished fourth again in
Spain. but was unable to start the race due to a related
drive shaft issue. He qualified on pole again at the next round in
Azerbaijan before finishing fourth. Tyre wear struggles at the saw him finish sixteenth after taking an additional
pit stop. He then finished seventh and eighth at the
Styrian and
Austrian Grands Prix, respectively. At the , Leclerc qualified fourth before inheriting the lead on the first lap: he overtook Bottas off-the-line before passing both
Max Verstappen and Hamilton after their collision. He held the lead until the third-to-last lap—when Hamilton passed him—finishing in second-place to claim his sole podium of the season. Leclerc retired from the rain-affected after a first-lap collision with
Lance Stroll, demoting him to seventh in the championship, below teammate Sainz. He finished eighth at the curtailed and fifth in the
Netherlands. In
Italy, Leclerc finished fourth after a penalty for Pérez. He took grid penalties for the , forcing him to start nineteenth; after climbing to third, he was the last to pit for
intermediate tyres in changing conditions, demoting him to fifteenth. Leclerc finished fourth at both the
Turkish and
United States Grands Prix, leading several laps at the former, before finishing fifth in
Mexico City and
São Paulo. After scoring
points in
Qatar and
Saudi Arabia, Leclerc moved up to fifth in the championship, four points ahead of
Lando Norris and 8.5 ahead of Sainz with one round remaining. At the , a pit stop gamble under the
virtual safety car saw Leclerc lose track position, dropping him to tenth; this result saw both Sainz and Norris surpass his points tally, with Leclerc finishing seventh in the World Drivers' Championship on 159 points. This marked the first time Leclerc had been outscored by a teammate in his
formula racing career.
2022: Curtailed title battle vs. Verstappen at the (pictured) and led the championship until his retirement in
Spain.|alt=Leclerc driving the Ferrari F1-75 at the 2022 Australian Grand Prix
New regulations utilising
ground effect saw Ferrari challenge
Red Bull in the first half of . Leclerc qualified on pole position for the season-opening before winning the race amidst a close battle with
Max Verstappen, marking his and Ferrari's first victory since . The result saw him become the first Monégasque driver to lead the World Drivers' Championship. After finishing second to Verstappen in another close-fought battle in
Saudi Arabia, Leclerc took a dominant victory from pole at the , achieving his maiden
grand slam in Formula One and extending his championship lead to 34
points over
George Russell, 46 ahead of Verstappen in sixth. Following another battle with Verstappen in the sprint, Leclerc spun at the
Variante Alta chicane whilst chasing
Sergio Pérez for second-place in the main race, demoting him to sixth and reducing his advantage over Verstappen to 27 points. He finished second to Verstappen after starting on pole at the . In
Spain, Leclerc took pole again and led the race with a 13-second margin until a power unit failure forced his retirement, handing Verstappen the victory and championship lead. After taking another pole at the , Leclerc finished fourth due to a strategy error in wet-weather conditions. He took his fourth-successive pole at the , where he again retired from the lead with a power unit issue, placing him third in the standings behind Pérez. Leclerc started nineteenth for the due to an engine
grid penalty; he recovered to fifth. At the , he finished fourth after losing out on a free
pit stop under the
safety car to his teammate,
Carlos Sainz Jr. .|alt=Leclerc lifting his trophy on the podium after winning the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix Leclerc then took victory at the after a battle with Verstappen, returning to second in the standings halfway through the season. Ferrari struggled to match the performance of Red Bull from the onwards, where Leclerc started on pole before spinning out of the lead on lap 18 and colliding with a barrier. In
Hungary, he qualified third and finished sixth after another strategic error by Ferrari put him on underperforming
hard-compound tyres; Verstappen won the race and extended his advantage over Leclerc to 80 points going into the summer break. Leclerc started fifteenth following a grid penalty at the , where he recovered to fifth, demoted to sixth after a five-second time penalty for
speeding in the
pit lane. Prior to the , he admitted that he had "stopped counting" his points deficit to Verstappen. He took five consecutive podiums from there until the , including second-placed finishes from pole in
Italy and
Singapore; Verstappen clinched the title in
Japan. Leclerc finished sixth and fourth at the
Mexico City and
São Paulo Grands Prix, respectively—after a collision with
Lando Norris at the latter—leaving him tied-second in the championship with Pérez on 290 points going into the final round. Leclerc qualified third for the behind Pérez, before overtaking him with a one-stop strategy and clinching second in the World Drivers' Championship. He totalled 308 points throughout the season, 146 behind Verstappen and 62 ahead of teammate Sainz in fifth. He led the field with nine pole positions
2023–2024: First Monaco Grand Prix victory Ferrari struggled for consistent race pace and tyre wear throughout the early stages of , as
Red Bull consolidated their advantage from the previous year. Leclerc qualified third for the , where he remained for the majority of the race before retiring with a technical issue. He subsequently took a
grid penalty in
Saudi Arabia, recovering to seventh after starting twelfth with a ten-position drop. Leclerc retired from the following a first-lap collision with
Lance Stroll. Leclerc then qualified on pole position at the , finishing second in the sprint and third in the main race. After crashing out of qualifying in
Miami, he started and finished seventh. He improved to sixth at the after receiving a three-place grid drop for impeding
Lando Norris in qualifying. In
Spain, he qualified nineteenth and started the race from the
pit lane—describing the
SF-23 as "undriveable"; he finished the race eleventh. Leclerc recovered from tenth to fourth in
Canada after a
pit stop gamble under the
safety car. He qualified on the front-row for the , leading briefly before being overtaken by
Max Verstappen for the win. He finished ninth and seventh at the
British and
Hungarian Grands Prix, respectively, amidst issues with tyre degradation and strategy. Leclerc achieved another pole position at the after a grid penalty for Verstappen; he finished third. After retiring from the rain-affected with damage, Leclerc finished fourth at the following three races in
Italy,
Singapore, and
Japan. He then finished fifth in
Qatar. He returned to pole at the and finished second in the sprint. He fell to sixth in the main race before both he and
Lewis Hamilton were disqualified for excessive
skid block wear. Leclerc again qualified on pole in
Mexico City, finishing third after a first-corner collision with
Sergio Pérez. He qualified on the front-row for the before crashing out of the
formation lap amidst a
hydraulics issue at
Ferradura. He qualified on pole again for the inaugural , where he was involved in a three-way battle for the lead with Verstappen and Pérez; Leclerc finished second after overtaking the latter on the final lap, which later won him the
Overtake Award. elevating him to fifth in the World Drivers' Championship on 206
points, level with
Fernando Alonso in fourth, and six ahead of teammate
Carlos Sainz Jr. in seventh. Leclerc achieved five pole positions and six podiums throughout the season. Ahead of the season, Leclerc opted to extend his contract with Ferrari beyond the
2026 regulation changes. Red Bull remained the front-runners going into the
season-opener, where Leclerc vowed he would do "absolutely everything" to contend; he qualified on the front-row and finished fourth amidst brake issues. He improved to third at the before completing a Ferrari
1–2 finish in
Australia—their first since the
2022 Bahrain Grand Prix—as he finished second to Sainz. After finishing fourth at both the
Japanese and
Chinese Grands Prix, Leclerc secured third-placed finishes in
Miami and
Emilia Romagna, as well as second in the former sprint race. Leclerc then won the —his home race—for the first time in his career, having started on pole position. He became 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. Leclerc retired from the with
power unit issues. After placing fifth at the , he finished outside of the
points in
Austria and
Britain due to collision damage and strategy errors, dropping him from second to third in the standings behind Norris. Leclerc again qualified on pole at the after a grid drop for Verstappen, finishing third after a disqualification for
George Russell. Another third-place followed at the . Leclerc received widespread acclaim for his surprise victory at the , completing a one-stop strategy to secure Ferrari's first home win since
2019. Leclerc qualified first at the —his fourth consecutive pole at the event—and finished second after a race-long battle with
Oscar Piastri. He finished fifth in
Singapore, before taking his third victory of the season at the . He then finished third in
Mexico City. After a podium in the
São Paulo sprint, he finished fifth in the rain-affected Grand Prix amidst car performance concerns and a strategy error. Following a fourth-placed finish in
Las Vegas, Leclerc completed the season with podiums at the
Qatar and
Abu Dhabi Grands Prix, having started the latter in nineteenth. He finished the season third in the championship on 356 points—81 behind champion Verstappen, 18 behind Norris, and 66 ahead of teammate Sainz in fifth; he outscored the rest of the field from the summer break onwards,
2025–2026: Partnership with Hamilton from onwards.|alt=Leclerc driving the Ferrari SF-25 at the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix Leclerc was partnered by seven-time World Drivers' Champion
Lewis Hamilton in . Prior to the season, Leclerc stated he was "ready [to win] the championship", with Ferrari expected to challenge
McLaren. He finished eighth at the rain-affected after a strategic error, and was disqualified from fifth in
China after his
SF-25 was found to be underweight. He finished fourth at both the
Japanese and
Bahrain Grands Prix amidst performance concerns, before claiming his first podium of the season with third-place in
Saudi Arabia. He
aquaplaned into the barriers during the
reconnaissance lap for the sprint, later qualifying eighth for the main race, which he finished in seventh. He climbed from eleventh to fourth in
Emilia Romagna before a late
safety car saw him drop to sixth on aging
tyres—85
points behind championship leader
Oscar Piastri; Leclerc stated he "[could not] accept the situation [Ferrari were] in". Ferrari improved in
Monaco with Leclerc qualifying and finishing second; he then claimed third in
Spain following a late
safety car, fifth in
Canada, and third again in
Austria. He was self-critical after qualifying sixth in
Britain, then dropping to fourteenth on a mistimed wet-weather strategy. Fourth in the sprint, he qualified third and held position from Verstappen in the wet–dry main race. He took a surprise pole in
Hungary, where he led the majority of the race before dropping to fourth after encountering setup issues. He ran fifth at the until a collision with
Kimi Antonelli at
Hugenholtzbocht forced his retirement, before maintaining fourth in
Italy amidst an early battle with third-placed Piastri. He crashed out of qualifying in
Azerbaijan and finished ninth, prior to claiming sixth in
Singapore amidst increasing concerns with the SF-25. Fifth in the
United States sprint, he retained third in the Grand Prix in a race-long battle for second with
Lando Norris. His
front-row start in
Mexico City preceded a contentious first-corner encounter with Norris, Hamilton, and Verstappen, where Leclerc retained second after evading to the
run-off area and withstanding a late Verstappen charge. He clinched fifth in the
São Paulo sprint before retiring from third in the Grand Prix amidst a collision with Antonelli and Piastri at the ''
Senna 'S'''. Intra-team conflict heightened when Leclerc and Hamilton entered a public feud with chairman
John Elkann as they dropped to fourth in the
World Constructors' Championship. Ferrari—who abandoned the SF-25 project early in the season—saw their performance regress further across the final three Grands Prix. Leclerc claimed fourth in
Las Vegas following a double
McLaren disqualification, eighth in
Qatar after several excursions in his thirteenth-placed sprint, and fourth in
Abu Dhabi as he pressured champion-elect Norris; he finished four positions ahead of teammate Hamilton in each race. 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, who he outscored at 19 of 24 Grands Prix. Ahead of
new chassis and power unit regulations in , Leclerc stated "it is now or never" for his prospect of a World Drivers' Championship with Ferrari. Having displayed strong pre-season performance with the
SF-26, he immediately passed three drivers to lead the , swapping the lead seven times with polesitter
George Russell before dropping to third as Ferrari declined the chance to pit behind the
virtual safety car. Runner-up to Russell in the
China sprint, Leclerc lost out in a Grand Prix–long battle with Hamilton for third, before returning to the podium in
Japan. At the
Miami Grand Prix, Leclerc placed third in both the sprint and qualifying for the main race. However, despite finishing sixth on track at the main race, he received a twenty-second time penalty for leaving the track on several occasions without reason, leading to an eighth place finish. == Driver profile ==