Charles Leclerc
Two years ago, we named Charles Leclerc #1 in our ?Top Ten Karting Stars To Watch” feature, considering him best among some other massive names on the scene. It is no surprise then that Monegasque’s move to cars was eagerly anticipated and expectations were very, very high.
He confirmed he’d be making his debut in Formula Renault 2.0 Alps with Fortec ? an appropriate series and team for someone of his stature. And, unsurprisingly, pre-season form was superb as Leclerc even managed to top one of the sessions of the Eurocup testing.
However, the start to the campaign didn’t quite go according to plan and, in line Fortec’s early struggles in all FR2.0 categories, Leclerc qualified down the order for the Alps opener and retired from both races.
But, in round two at Pau, he was already a frontrunner, notching his first podium in the series. He was then twice fourth at Spielberg and added two podiums at Spa.
The first wins finally came at Monza, as he inherited the lead in race one after Riener was penalized and then controlled race two from pole.
That would be a huge boost to his form ? Leclerc went on to guest in the Eurocup at the Nurbugring and Hungaroring and strung together three consecutive second-place finishes, unfazed by the series’ notorious levels of competition.
Twice behind the dominant de Vries in the Alps round at Mugello, he eventually finished a solid runner-up in the standings.
He’s recently become a hot commodity amongst top FIA F3 teams, having run with Prema, Carlin and Van Amersfoort. A seat with any of those will be well and truly earned based on his rookie year.
Valentin Khorounzhiy