Ferrari protégé Charles Leclerc to get FP1 experience from Haas F1

Ferrari academy driver Charles Leclerc will take part in five Formula 1 practice sessions for Haas F1, it was announced today.

Leclerc is the latest protégé of Nicolas Todt, who is the Monegasque driver’s manager, and he will first drive Esteban Gutierrez’s car during FP1 at Silverstone next month, with further outings planned for this season’s Hungarian, German, Malaysian and Abu Dhabi events.

Leclerc currently races for Todt’s ART Grand Prix team in GP3 and he leads the championship after winning the season-opening feature race in Barcelona.

Speaking about the news, Leclerc, who was formerly mentored by the late Jules Bianchi, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to get seat time in a Formula 1 car and I can’t thank Haas F1 Team and Esteban enough.

“I’m honoured by the faith Haas F1 Team and Ferrari have in me. This is an important step toward my ultimate goal of becoming a Formula 1 driver.”

Leclerc won 11 karting titles between 2005 and 2013, and has gone on to win races in Formula Renault 2.0 and the FIA European Formula 3 championship, where he finished fourth last season.

The 18-year-old is highly rated and is considered to be one of the very best up-and-coming drivers currently racing below GP2 level.

Guenther Steiner, the Haas team principal, explained that the American squad was happy to give Leclerc the chance to demonstrate his skills in F1 and praised Gutierrez for his assistance.

“Charles Leclerc is highly regarded by Ferrari and his record speaks for itself. We’re happy to provide this opportunity and help develop the next generation of Formula One drivers. Credit also goes to Esteban for sharing his racecar and serving as a mentor to Charles.”

Haas F1, which has a technical partnership with Ferrari, already has another young GP3 racer on its books.

Earlier this season, the team revealed Santino Ferrucci would be its development driver, and although the 18-year-old American has not been granted any F1 running so far, it was announced at the time that he would attend races and tests with Haas, and conduct running in its simulator.