Current Charles Leclerc

2018 sees the much talked about Charles Leclerc make his debut in F1 in the Sauber. Its fair to say there is a good bit of excitement around that. He was born in October 1997 (no really) in Monaco and does race under the Monegasque flag. He was a childhood friend of the late Jules Bianchi. His father Herve Leclerc was also a racing driver, taking part in Formula 3 but unfortunately passed away last year at 54. I'm sure both these connections will make his F1 debut a bit bittersweet as they both should be there.

I first saw Leclerc racing in European F3 and instantly made a joke about Napoleon's brother-in-law and General of the same name. As soon as I made the joke I realised not many people know who that is and therefore the joke is not funny. However because I don't know when to quit I sent a tweet to Will Buxton saying for this reason we should nickname him 'The General'. This tweet was liked by Charles Leclerc himself and therefore not only does that mean it is now his official nickname but also, in true Ted Kravitz style, makes him a close personal friend of mine. To be honest I'm a bit surprised I'm not being flown out to Australia as a VIP.

Leclerc was good to watch in F3 and had an instant unfriendly rivalry with George Russell. When he moved to GP3 I thought he'd be a contender but not win first time out. He proved me wrong and took the title against stiff opposition in Alexander Albon. When he moved into F2 I thought he would probably mix it up with the front runners but wouldn't be in contention in his first year. He proved me wrong and completely wiped the floor with everyone becoming the first person to win both GP3 and F2. So now he comes to F1 you can see why I'm very reluctant to make predictions. Logic says that in a Sauber he should be in the bottom half of the results most of the time but pull off the odd great drive. Logic doesn't always work though and it will be really interesting to see how he does. There is no doubt he has the talent and the skill but there is a lot of expectation on him and he is up against a team mate who no one rates but isn't actual as bad as people think he is. You only have to look at the match up between Ericsson and Wherlein in Quali last year to see that Marcus is no slouch when he is on it. Ericsson is seen as a pay driver (so he should be his backers basically own the team) but lets not forget in his junior formula days he was seen as a big talent.

Leclerc's main problem in the long term in F1 is the big glass ceiling he is about to hit. He is young, trendy and talented right now but there are no top seats available. If one does not become available in the next year or so then the buzz around him wears off and the next bright young thing will steel in and get that seat when it comes around. You only have to talk to Nico Hulkenberg if you want to know more. As he is backed by Ferrari many see him as a made replacement for Kimi but, if he is as good as we think, I can't for the life of me see Vettel approving him coming to the team. Maybe thats his tactic - try and appear mediocre at Sauber so Vettel will have him as number 2 and then turn it on big time.

I'm really excited to see how he does and I really hope that Sauber is more on the pace so he can mix it up some.
 
I first saw Leclerc racing in European F3 and instantly made a joke about Napoleon's brother-in-law and General of the same name. As soon as I made the joke I realised not many people know who that is and therefore the joke is not funny. However because I don't know when to quit I sent a tweet to Will Buxton saying for this reason we should nickname him 'The General'. This tweet was liked by Charles Leclerc himself
Did you delete the tweet 'cause I couldn't find it?

Thanks for the write up.:thumbsup:

There are multiple reasons, why Hülkenberg hasn't found his way into a top seat.
One reason is his size which means a team would have to make compromises in the design to accomodate him. Another reason is that he has a greedy manager. A deal with Ferrari was nearly finalised but the manager wanted more money, so they chose Räikkönen instead.
 
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Thanks dude. I look forward to reading some of yours.

As for the tweet - it was a comment on someone's else tweet made back in 2015 so if you have the time trawl back. Will Buxton has change his entire twitter profile since then. It was meant as an amusing aside really. I'll publish a bibliography next time ;)
 
before i start im worried that this going to turn into me fan girling

but this 12 months i didnt know much about leclerc, i knew he been ok in gp3 but i dont watch gp3 so no idea, but very quickly i realised this guy was massive potiential, he was at times on a different level to other drivers on level playing field, he on the track (before the exclusion in hungary) took the 1st 8 pole posistions & 9 of 11 pole posistions, 7 wins of the 11 weekends, finished in top 5 15 times out of 18 races he finished, we had the great drives through the field in bahrain & spa. outscored his teammate by over 3 to 1 & as youll probally see on F2 thread i was running out of superlatives. he really can be as good the other youngsters in ocon & verstappen that could also could future world champions (watch him be awful in melbourne & outqualifed make me look an idiot :D) but as you point out we have a problem because he should be tailor made to be

yeah he is a prolific tweeter, because i remember after the bahrain f2 round, where he took the very unconventional statergy of making a pitstop in a sprint race & in 1 of the great drives in series history in 9 laps he went from 14th to 1st, with some brilliant overtakes. i sent a tweet saying he was like jaws movie in closing laps
 
1 of my favourite stats. I just found through Twitter. Charles leclerc scored Monaco 1st points for 68 years. Last monasque driver to score points was 1950 Monaco gp when Louis chiron finished 3rd in a maserati

I doubt that record will ever be beaten, when a nation got points in 2nd race & then had to wait until 980th
 
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1 of my favourite stats. I just found through Twitter. Charles leclerc scored Monaco 1st points for 68 years. Last monasque driver to score points was 1950 Monaco gp when Louis chiron finished 3rd in a maserati

I doubt that record will ever be beaten, when a nation got points in 2nd race & then had to wait until 980th
Thailand is probably a candidate for the future. Birabongse Bhanudej - Wikipedia

Also I thought Olivier Beretta must have scored a point, but apparently not. Best finish of 8th back when they weren't throwing points around like confetti. So I learned something new today.
 
When Ii was young I discovered "Road Racing 1936...." in the library, after that I was a B.Bira fan. I thought that there were at least two books, but age has it's affects. The book including the competition between Bira and Dick Seaman for what I think as the BRDC championship. Two of the circuits he raced on were Brooklands and, I think, Donington Park; both these disappeared after WWII, Brooklands permanently and Donington for many years.

Oh dear, I am beginning to sound like Bill Boddy now.
 
Thailand is probably a candidate for the future. Birabongse Bhanudej - Wikipedia

Also I thought Olivier Beretta must have scored a point, but apparently not. Best finish of 8th back when they weren't throwing points around like confetti. So I learned something new today.

you make a good point on that, but I would also add alexander albon. doing very well in F2. although to beat the record he would have to be after 2019 Mexican gp
 
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Another solid result and another point by Leclerc yesterday. I think he's doing a great job in a lucklustre car. So will Ferrari put him in a Haas next year or will they move him up to the main team if Kimi is no longer there? I think Charles is a good driver and one to watch, not flashy and full of attitude, but someone who is working hard and producing the goods when needed.
 
Ferrari seem to be so conservative, I can sooner see them putting in someone like Magnussen, flawed as he is, than risk upsetting the applecart with a driver who could compete with Vettel. Most likely they'll stick with Ol' Man Kimi though.
 
Leclerc may be very good, but he’s hardly being tested against Ericsson. There’s nothing to suggest he’d be troubling Vettel unduly. I hope he does get the Ferrari drive, it would be great to have more young drivers in the fast cars.

All this ‘one rooster in the hen-house’ crap isn’t about speed, it’s about attitude, and if Ferrari can’t manage their drivers then they’re idiots.
 
Im stating the obvious but im a big fan of leclerc he really impressed me in f2 but taking sentiment out of it he has to be in the ferrari 2019 seat. As has been said he is cheaper & quicker. Sentiment is only keeping kimi in that seat because as brundle said during commentary. We all love kimi but his results (when not sabotaged from inside) arent good enough

Its becoming a regular thing now ericcson keeps getting hammered in the race
 
Ferrari have kept Kimi as long as they have because he's doing a good job and he gets along with Vettel. You are better off having team mates who get along, if you have warring team mates it often doesn't end well as we all know. Plus of course Seb and Kimi like a similar sort of car set up from what I've read which is also another good thing for the team.

I can't see why Leclerc would be a problem at Ferrari, but then that could be famous last words. I would like them to give him a try, rather him than Magnussen as far as I'm concerned
 
Warring or competitive teammates is 50/50 because sometimes it can push teammates on. Like Riccardio said when kyvat was replaced it pushed him up a level, but sometimes it can ruin a team. I case 2007 mclaren is a great example of both in a season
 
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