Monaco Grand Prix followers who’re from the principality have develop into accustomed to watching one in all their very own, Charles Leclerc of Ferrari, who was born in Monaco, compete within the race.
At this yr’s occasion, there shall be two locals, as Arthur Leclerc, Charles’s youthful brother, races there in Formula 2 on Saturday.
“It’s a track where I was going really young with my parents,” Arthur stated. “I have really early memories in Monaco when I was looking at Formula 1, and my only dream was to be in their place and to drive in Formula 1 in Monaco. I’m not driving in Formula 1, I’m driving in Formula 2, but it’s a dream coming true. It’s exciting.”
Arthur, 22, is the youthful brother of Charles, 25, who drives for Ferrari and was the runner-up for the 2022 drivers’ championship.
“I’ve been very impressed with how Arthur has developed as a driver,” Charles stated. “F2 is the last step before F1, so if he does well, he can dream of the biggest things to achieve.”
Arthur has progressed to Formula 2 5 years after beginning his single-seater profession, following a number of years of karting as a teenager.
He and Charles have been steeped in motorsport from an early age, the eagerness instilled by their father Hervé, who competed in nationwide stage Formula 3 championships beginning within the Nineteen Eighties. He died in 2017.
Arthur stated they might watch Grands Prix at house and would “go straight on the PlayStation on the Formula 1 game to try and reproduce what [the drivers] were doing.”
He additionally recalled driving to Brignoles, France, to the karting facility owned by household pals, the Bianchis. Jules Bianchi was the godfather of Charles and a Formula 1 driver who died in 2015 after a crash.
“We were very often together, whenever there was a weekend or a Wednesday afternoon after school,” Charles stated. “We’d kart with Jules; my older brother [Lorenzo]; Jules’ brother, Tom; Arthur; and some other friends, and that remains the best memories that I have in this sport.”
Arthur began competing in karting at age 8 in France however solely sometimes.
“We didn’t really have the money to continue,” he stated. “There was a choice, to go with my brother [or] myself,” and his brother was chosen. “Charles was in a much higher level,” Arthur stated.
The household’s selection, to help Charles’ profession financially the place they might, was a call that Arthur accepted however nonetheless discovered powerful to take. He returned to racing in his teenagers when his father “managed to find a bit of money” for some entries, and he gained the Kart Racing Academy title in 2014, however he nonetheless solely competed often.
But in late 2017, his household organized for him to do a one-day Formula 4 check with the junior staff Prema Racing at Adria International Raceway in Italy.
“If I did badly, then obviously I would have thought to do something else; if I was good, then maybe we would give [a career] a try,” Arthur stated. “I was shaking like crazy prior to this test, as I knew I had one shot to convince them to continue. It went really well.”
“I felt already quite comfortable in the car, despite spending so much time without racing,” he remembered, including that, earlier than that day, his expertise driving racecars was “only on computer games.”
Arthur raced in French Formula 4 in 2018, its German counterpart in 2019, and in 2020, he joined Ferrari’s younger driver academy. He moved to Formula 3, gained a number of races and was in an in depth title battle in 2022 however completed sixth.
“I was lacking a bit of experience in my first year,” Arthur stated. “All last year I was battling for the title, in the last race I could still win the championship, it was all decided in one race. It was a shame that the championship finished like this, as one race doesn’t reflect the championship, but that’s how it is.”
He then moved to Formula 2 for the 2023 season, with the DAMS staff, and he’s now in seventh place within the race for the championship, with one end on the rostrum.
“I’m happy and not happy, I think we can do better,” Arthur stated. “The positive point is the consistency, we have improved massively the consistency, we have finished most races in the points, but then in terms of pure performance, we would like to be a bit more competitive.”
This yr, as in seasons previous, the Formula 2 groups will race at Formula 1 tracks throughout Grand Prix weekends. The brothers share recommendation, notably on circuit suggestions or monitor circumstances.
“I try to not give him too much advice,” Charles stated, earlier than clarifying. “It’s not like I try not giving him advice, I always try to be helpful. On the other hand, I want him to grow alone in this sport, as it’s the approach that my father had for me. I think it was something that was very important and that has helped me a lot, so I’m trying to have a similar approach towards him. But he knows that he can call me whenever and ask me whatever, and I will always be here for him.”
The brothers typically get anxious once they watch one another race.
“I’m much more nervous when I’m watching Arthur racing than when I am racing myself, just because when I’m racing I don’t think about any of the dangers,” Charles stated. “It’s a very different story whenever my brother is there, because I then realize that things can go wrong sometimes, and when you’ve got somebody you love inside that car then, of course, it’s a different feeling.”
It is identical together with his brother.
“I’m a lot more nervous when I watch his races than mine,” he stated. “In the car you are controlling yourself, it’s you who controls your own future. When I see him driving and battling really close, there is obviously a lot of stress.”
The purpose for Arthur is to make it into Formula 1.
“Since I was a kid I’ve watched F1,” he stated, “so obviously it’s goal No. 1.”
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