Charles Leclerc has been unsurprisingly confirmed as the fourth driver of ART Grand Prix GP3 Series line-up.
18-year-old Monegasque driver, Charles Leclerc, multiple go-kart champion started his racing career in 2014 in Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS. He finished rookie champion and runner-up behind his future team mate Nyck De Vries. In 2015, he moved up to European Formula 3 with Van Amersfoort Racing, taking Max Verstappen’s seat. After a surprisingly good first half of the season, leading the championship after 4 victories and 13 podiums, he could not handle Prema Powerteam’s come back and finished 4th overall and rookie champion by far.
“I am delighted to be joining the great ART Grand Prix family after my karting seasons in 2012 and 2013. GP3 is a very competitive series and I am onboard with the best team since the championship started.
“The atmosphere here is good and everyone is working with just 1 goal in mind, victory. I’m excited about the new car they have prepared for this season and for the start of the championship. My objective is clearly to fight for the title.”
He joins ART Grand Prix, his go-karting team and the team of his manager, Nicolas Todt, in GP3 Series where he places himself as a serious contender for the championship. Sebastien Philippe, ART team manager, comments:
“In GP3, Charles ideally complements our driver line up. His is a natural, his pure speed and racing intelligence are rare qualities in a driver of his age. We are very confident that Charles will flourish in ART Grand Prix and will quickly join in the fight for victories with the front runners.”
Charles Leclerc completes a full rookie line-up with Nyck De Vries, Alexander Albon and Nirei Fukuzumi and joins ART’s challenge to keep their GP3 titles.