DRIVER LINE-UP
CHARLES LECLERC
Born 16 October 1997 (age 26) Place of birth Monte Carlo, Monaco Race engineer Xavier Marcos Padros Instagram @charles_leclerc
F1 HISTORY
Debut Australia 2018 16 Starts 123 Wins 5 Other podiums 25 Poles 23 Fastest laps 7
Best position 2nd (2022)
2023 position 5th
Reunited with his former Sauber boss Frédéric Vasseur, Leclerc appeared energised for his fifth season at Ferrari. But 2023 wasn’t a particularly memorable one for him (despite the six podiums) as the Prancing Horse spent the season chasing its tail. Five poles reflected one-lap pace, but Leclerc appeared second best to Carlos Sainz after the summer break – until late developments made the car more to his liking. He’ll want it to start like that this year.
2023 HIGHLIGHT
Followed pole in Vegas with a strong race. Couldn’t keep Max at bay, but re-passed Pérez for second on final lap.
2023 LOW POINT
His qualifying lap in Miami was curtailed after pushing too hard at the high-speed Marina sequence where he headed straight for the barriers.
CARLOS SAINZ
Born 21 September 1994 (age 29) Place of birth Madrid, Spain Race engineer Riccardo Adami Instagram @carlossainz55
F1 HISTORY
Debut Australia 2015 Starts 183 Wins 2 Other podiums 16 Poles 5 Fastest laps 3
Best position 5th (2021,2022)
2023 position 7th
Had a rather anonymous start to 2023 until Ferrari dialled out his car’s edginess. Pole at Monza led to a terrific on-track duel with his team-mate in which Sainz emerged ahead. That good form continued with the win in Singapore, where he drove with maturity and guile. Ferrari’s win was the only non-red Bull grand prix triumph of last year. And Sainz’s reward for this is being shown the door at the end of the 2024 season, to be replaced by Lewis Hamilton.
2023 HIGHLIGHT
Pole at Monza, followed by his Singapore win, trumped the achievements of anyone not in a Red Bull.
2023 LOW POINT
A two-lap restart in Melbourne resulted in another red flag as Sainz out-braked himself at Turn 1 and shunted into the back of Fernando Alonso.