Mindtheanimals - Seb Fan

The Chrimer: 2016, GP3.

In 2016, Charles returns to ART Grand Prix as one of their GP3 drivers. This would be the first (and only) time he'd race under their name in single-seaters; previously, he had karted for the team in 2012 and 2013. It's a good team. By the time Charles joins the roster, they've come off of winning five teams' championships and three drivers' titles in just six seasons.

Their success isn't the only reason why this partnership is advantageous to Charles. It also puts him with some familiar faces.

ART GP was co-founded by two men that would be very integral to Charles' career: Nicholas Todt and Frederic Vasseur. Todt would be the manager that saved Charles' career in karts, and Vasseur would later be Charles' first F1 Team Principal.

In the press release, Charles says:

"I am delighted to be back with the big ART Grand Prix family after my karting seasons in 2012 and 2013. GP3 is a very competitive category and I will be in the best team in the championship. The atmosphere is good and everything everyone is working with a common goal: to win. I am excited about the car they have prepared for this season and I can't wait to start the championship. My objective is clearly to fight for the title."

GP3 would eventually be merged with the Formula 3 European Championship-- the category Charles had competed in the previous year-- to form present day F3. In 2016, however, GP3 was considered a minor step up from F3: the cars were a little faster, and the tires were a little more difficult to master.

Somehow, Charles' announcement that he would be graduating to GP3 with the top team wouldn't be his biggest press release of the week.

On March 1st, Ferrari formally announces Charles as the newest member of the Ferrari Drivers Academy. This had been rumored for months.

Ferrari goes a step farther by also announcing Charles as a Ferrari Development Driver and "on the books" of its F1 customer team Haas. The position with Ferrari would mean that Charles would be working on the Maranello simulators to test data for Vettel and Raikkonen, and the connection to Haas was rumored to be structured so that Charles could gain experience by driving in FP1 practices during the season.

At this point, Haas was the customer team closest to Ferrari; Sauber would not rebrand as Alfa Romero until late 2017.

Charles is the favorite going into the 2016 GP3 season, to the point where Motorsport.com titles their season preview "Can anyone stop Leclerc?":

“His karting record and early campaigns in single-seaters suggest Leclerc might be one of the biggest talents of his generation, but with that has come the burden of expectation. Still, early indications suggest he won't buckle and, if he doesn't, he might be unstoppable. [..] No wonder our entire panel picked him as the champion, Leclerc is the whole package - super fast, quick to adapt, consistent, strong racecraft. It might put too much pressure on him but not winning the title, which is as option in this field, would be a disappointment.”

Charles starts off his GP3 career dominant. He impresses in tests by going fastest:

Before the GP3 season starts, Charles gets his first taste of the future by testing a F1 car for the first time.

He drives a 2014-spec F14T at Fiorano with the goal of completing the 300km needed to be granted a free-practice-only super license. Charles is the first GP3 driver who tests that season.

The FIA super license is the qualification needed for a driver to compete in the F1 World Championship. In order to get a full one, a driver must (as of 2021):

Be at least 18 years old at the start of their first F1 competition

Already have an International Grade A competition license

Have a valid driving license

Pass an FIA test on the F1 sporting codes and regulations

Completed at least 80% of each of two full seasons of any of the approved single-seater Championships

Accumulated at least 40 points over the previous three seasons in those championships

Getting a full F1 super license is critical to Charles' hopes of bypassing F2 for F1 next season. He comes into this season with 17 super license points: 10 from finishing runner-up in the 2014 Formula Renault 2.0 Alps, and 7 from finishing fourth in the previous year's F3 European Championship. In GP3, 30 points are given to the winner and 20 to the runner-up; this means that anything less than first would eliminate his chance of jumping to F1 in 2017.

Charles would continue to excel through the end of the season. Unlike in F3, he would come out swinging and continue strong until the very last race. Charles wins the series opener in Barcelona; he goes from second row to leading the race by the first corner, and never looks back.

According to reports, Ferrari Team Principal Maurizio Arrivabene sneaks away to see Charles' first win as a member of his FDA.

Charles finds his only rival that season in a familiar face: Alex Albon, an old karting teammate and fellow member of the ART GP team. If you want in a more in-depth look into their relationship this season, you can read Part 2 of my Chalex primer.

It is important to note that Alex and Charles trade wins and share multiple 1-2s throughout the season, like so:

In June, Haas would officially announce Charles' first Grand Prix weekend as a test driver. He'd replace Esteban Guiterrez in five practice sessions throughout the season, starting in Silverstone.

Charles does well. He says to NBC Sports:

“It’s been an amazing experience for my first time in a Formula 1 car. I was struggling quite a lot at the beginning, as Silverstone is quite a hard track with lots of high-speed corners, and I found the steering wheel quite stiff in comparison to anything I’ve driven before. However, it was a great session and lap after lap I gained confidence. The last run was on old tires, so we couldn’t show our real pace, but I think we were quite fast. We completed the program and that was the main aim, so I’m happy with that. It was probably one of the best days of my life, and to do it with Haas has been even more amazing.”

Gunther Steiner, the Haas Team Principal, agrees:

“I found it quite good how calm he was about the whole thing, and we must never forget this is an 18-year-old kid in an F1 car - the fastest racecar in the world. I wasn't surprised by him, but I was impressed by him and what he did. [...] He was very professional, he did a good job, and he showed he can do it.”

Four days later, Ferrari brings Charles back to Silverstone to test in one of their cars. He describes the difference to Autosport.com:

"It's two different things. In FP1 with Haas that was mostly for the team because they had a weekend after, and I had to work for them and do as many kilometres for them as possible. With Ferrari it was a long day so we could plan it a bit better. Unfortunately we couldn't do many laps because of a little problem on the old power unit, but both experiences have been amazing. It's still good to get experience in two different Formula 1 cars. The more cars I try, and the different ways I see of working, the more experience I get."

It's very clear that Jules is on Charles' mind as he tests at Ferrari. He talks extensively to the press about his mentor:

“Jules advised me really well in the past, and all his comments he gave me in the past I keep in mind and try not to make the errors he told me not to do. [...] Jules was one of the talents who would have gone [to Ferrari] if the things that happened hadn't have happened.”

Jules' memory weighs heavy on him for that entire season.

Charles continues performing at a high-level both in GP3 and as a test driver: rumors for his next season remain abundant, especially as he stays at the top of the standings. One of the largest rumors is that Charles will bypass GP2 for an F1 seat with Haas the next year.

These hopes are soon dashed. In September, Gunther announces that they will not be signing Charles for 2017. He says:

“In the position we are in, he's too inexperienced. I wouldn't say too young, as Max Verstappen does a good job. We highly respect what Leclerc is doing in FP1, he was on the gain immediately. But what we need as a team is somebody who can score points. We need to train the team, we cannot train the driver. It [taking a rookie] is not an option at the moment, it's not a thing we want to do."

The comparisons with Max continue to loom over Charles, both in F1 and GP3. An F1 junior driving ranking says in the lead up to the final race:

“In an age in which every junior driver is seemingly being measured against Max Verstappen, Leclerc is one of the few who clearly compares favorably. His Euro F3 campaign in 2015 was in my view every bit as impressive as Max Verstappen’s the year before. In 2016, Leclerc stepped up to the considerably more powerful GP3 cars and generally looked strong since winning the first race of the season. He leads the championship going into the last race weekend and most importantly leads another Ferrari junior, Antonio Fuoco, who is now in his second year of GP3. While a Formula 1 seat cannot be out of the question, I expect Ferrari will promote Leclerc to GP2 next. They may still be wary after their previous top junior, Raffaele Marciello, struggled to continue his earlier junior successes in GP2.”

The final race weekend of GP3 ends up the most important: Charles and Alex go into Abu Dhabi each with the chance of claiming the Championship.

Alex says:

"I think Charles' gap is a bit big. In a way I don't have anything to lose, there is no real pressure or anything for me. It's just about doing my job doing the best that I can and let's just hope Charles has a bad weekend."

Neither of them actually finish the feature race. Alex– who had gotten pole position that weekend– hits Jack Aiken while fighting for the lead and has to retire. Charles doesn’t make it much longer in the race; he gets run off the track by Santino Ferrucci while fighting for third.

It doesn’t matter. With the way the points are, Charles wins from the sidelines.

He says:

“It was really strange to be champion and finish in the wall at the same time. When I heard on the radio we were already champions because Alex was out, then I took the risk. […] But it’s an amazing moment. So much dedication into this season - it’s amazing to finish on a high, on a low, but winning the championship.”

He also makes it clear that sometimes you can be a champion and still make time for drama:

“To be honest what Ferrucci did was completely stupid, I will have to go see him and talk to him. What he [Ferrucci] did already from the beginning of the race was really crazy, I already had problems [with him] this season and he kept going knowing I’m [competing for] a championship, which is really stupid.”

Charles finishes the season with 202 points to Alex’s 177. In December, it is announced that Charles will take Pierre’s-- who has just won GP2-- Prema spot.