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Five years ago, we look back at the beginnings of the Formula 2 saga, starting with the man who won the first championship of this new era: Charles Leclerc.
In 2017, the GP2 series disappeared, renamed “Formula 2” after Liberty Media bought the commercial rights to Formula 1. That season also marked the last year that V8 engines were used in the lower categories of the sport.
Leclerc's first steps In 2015, the Monegasque driver competed in the European Formula 3 championship, finishing fourth overall with four wins and three pole positions. At the end of the season, he joined ART GP for GP3 series testing in Abu Dhabi, where he broke the category's lap record three times.
The following year, Charles Leclerc moved up a level. He joined the GP3 series with ART GP and simultaneously became a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, a partnership that would shape his career. Leclerc started the season with a win in Barcelona and went on to dominate, securing four pole positions, eight podium finishes, and three wins in nine meetings. He also got a taste of Formula 1 in several free practice sessions, including his debut with Haas at the British Grand Prix, while already serving as a development driver for Haas and Ferrari. Breakthrough in Formula 2 Liberty Media's restructuring in 2017 transformed the GP2 championship into Formula 2, and Leclerc signed with the Italian PREMA team. He immediately made a splash.
Bahrain – He took pole position for the first race, finished third in the main race after being overtaken by Artem Markelov and Norman Nato, then turned the tables in the sprint race, moving from sixth to first place in three laps after a daring pit stop. The weekend saw him claim two podium finishes and take the lead in the championship. Spain – Another pole position, followed by an unchallenged victory in the main race, saw him extend his lead in the standings. In the sprint race, he fought his way up from eighth to fourth, cementing his early dominance. Monaco – Leclerc qualified in third place, but suspension problems forced him to retire from both the main and sprint races. Despite these setbacks, he remained at the top of the standings, three points ahead of Oliver Rowland. Azerbaijan – Racing a week after the death of his father, he dedicated his performance to the man who sparked his passion. He took pole position by more than half a second, won the main race with the fastest lap, and fought his way up from eighth to first place in the sprint race. A ten-second penalty for not slowing down enough under yellow flags relegated him to second place behind Norman Nato, but the weekend still went down in F2 history. Austria and Silverstone – Leclerc continued his pole streak, securing six consecutive poles – a new record – and winning both feature races. After Silverstone, he led the championship by 67 points ahead of Markelov.
Hungary – The streak ended; he qualified on the front row but still managed to finish fourth twice. Belgium – He won the main race from pole position but was later disqualified for a damaged flat-bottomed chassis. He bounced back in the sprint, finishing fifth. In the wet race at Spa, he qualified seventh and battled for the lead until the final lap, before a collision with Nick De Vries sent his car into the barriers. Starting from the back of the grid in the sprint, he fought his way back to ninth place, maintaining a 59-point lead over Rowland.
Jerez – With his eighth pole position in ten meetings, Leclerc turned the final weekend into a mere formality: he won the main race and clinched the Formula 2 championship, then settled for seventh place in the sprint. The season ended with a grand finale in Abu Dhabi, crowning a year in which the young Monegasque driver made the brand new Formula 2 series his personal showcase.
The drama in Abu Dhabi turned a routine qualifying session into a headline-grabbing performance for Charles Leclerc. After setting the sixth-fastest time of the session, the Monegasque driver found himself propelled to second place in the race standings when penalties were handed out to Rowland and Fuoco after the race. This result capped off a remarkable weekend for a driver who has already secured a seat with Swiss team Sauber. Leclerc's rise to prominence has its roots in an exceptional Formula 2 campaign, where his latest appearance was marked by a spectacular comeback and a fierce battle for victory, allowing him to claim his seventh win of the season. This triumph also earned him the rookie championship title, a feat that left an indelible mark on the 2017 F2 calendar. From the first signs of his talent, observers could already predict a brilliant trajectory towards Formula 1, a prediction now confirmed by Sauber's commitment to the young driver.
