Charles Leclerc’s younger brother Arthur Leclerc leaves Ferrari Driver Academy ahead of 2024 season

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Charles Leclerc’s younger brother Arthur Leclerc leaves Ferrari Driver Academy (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Arthur Leclerc, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc's younger brother, will no longer be a part of the Ferrari Driver Academy in the 2024 season as the Scuderia confirmed their lineup.

Leclerc joined the Ferrari Driver Academy (FDA) in 2020. Since then, after finishing sixth in Formula 3, he moved to Formula 2 in the 2023 season and raced for DAMS. He managed to finish only 15th during his initial season in the series.

The FDA confirmed their lineup for the next season earlier. Along with Leclerc, James Wharton, who won the title in UAE Formula 4, will also leave the program. Leclerc, meanwhile, will still be a part of the "Ferrari Family," as revealed by the FDA, but the position is still unknown.

DAMS earlier confirmed their all-American lineup for the 2024 season after both their drivers from the 2023 season; Ayumu Iwasa and Arthur Leclerc, left the team. While the former will be racing in the Japanese Super Formula Series, Leclerc's future seems uncertain as of now.

Charles Leclerc, Arthur's elder brother, has been a part of Ferrari since 2016, joining the FDA back then. He made his F1 debut in 2018 with Sauber and was soon signed by Ferrari in 2019 where he continues to race.


Treating Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz equally in 2023 was successful, feels Ferrari boss

The start of the 2023 F1 season was one of the worst starts that the Italian outfit had experienced in their long history in the sport. The SF-23 was neither reliable nor competitive. Progressing in the season, however, they became the only team other than Red Bull to win a race in the season.

The Scuderia came extremely close to taking second position in the standings in the final race, however, lost out to Mercedes by just three points. Despite this, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished the season in 5th and 7th place, just six points apart. This was because of the equal treatment that team principal Frederic Vasseur decided to follow.

"We have two drivers who finished with almost the same score," Formu1a.uno quoted Vasseur as saying. "We found ourselves here talking about first and second drivers, and I assured them that they would be treated the same way. And I think we proved it."

Vasseur stated that the Singapore GP, where Carlos Sainz attained victory, was a major example of the teamwork both drivers showcased.

Charles Leclerc did not pit for fresher tires and stayed behind blocking George Russell, which assisted the other Ferrari driver to take the win while he finished in fourth place.

"Charles agreed to start with the Softs to overtake and block Russell, and they worked well together," Vasseur said.

The team has the same driver lineup for the fourth season in a row. Both Leclerc and Sainz have shared an excellent bond in the team and continue to do so. Ferrari will be revealing their 2024 challenger on February 13th, almost two weeks before the new season starts.

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