Formula One: Charles Leclerc to drive for Sauber in 2018
By Asher Fair
Confirming previous speculation, Charles Leclerc is set to drive for Sauber in the 2018 Formula One season, his rookie season.
Charles Leclerc, 20, will make his Formula One debut as a full-time driver in the 2018 season driving for Sauber. Even before he put his teenage years behind him back in October, he had long been the favorite to get this ride, and now it’s official.
Leclerc test drove for Scuderia Ferrari and Haas in Formula One cars last season, and he test drove again for the former this past season in addition to test driving for Sauber, the team for which he will be driving competitively in a full-time role next year.
Leclerc is a current member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, and he is widely considered one of the future stars of Formula One. While Sauber is not a competitive team and Leclerc will likely struggle to score points by finishing races in the top 10, this will be a great opportunity for him to showcase his driving talent to some of the sport’s top teams.
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With his ties to Ferrari through the Ferrari Driver Academy in addition to his confirmed role as a full-time driver for Sauber, the team that signed a technical partnership with Ferrari for 2018, in his rookie Formula One season, Leclerc is among the lead candidates to replace Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari in the 2019 season.
The 38-year-old Raikkonen signed a third straight one-year deal to remain with Ferrari through 2018, but a return in 2019 on a fourth consecutive one-year deal isn’t overwhelmingly likely.
Leclerc won the GP3 Series championships in the 2016 season before going on to win the Formula 2 title this past season in dominant fashion. He won three of the 2016 season’s 21 races in the GP3 Series en route to winning the title, and he won seven of the 2017 season’s 22 races in Formula 2 en route to winning the title. He is clearly deserving of a shot in Formula One.
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Charles Leclerc is definitely a driver to keep your eye on even though he is only set to drive for an uncompetitive Sauber team in his rookie season next year. With his potential and talent, it would seem to be only a matter of time before he gets a ride with one of the sport’s top teams and starts contending for race wins and even championships.