Ferrari hand Leclerc's brother an F1 debut as Sainz's future uncertain
Arthur Leclerc has enjoyed his first taste of Formula 1 machinery just days after he became the official Ferrari development driver.
The 23-year-old was recently released by the Italian squad's driver academy. But Leclerc, younger brother of five-time F1 race winner Charles, has an ongoing relationship with Ferrari which seems to be as strong as ever.
Last week, the team announced the Monegasque as their newest development driver. He shares responsibility with Davide Rigon and Antonio Fuoco for working on the simulator to help the team develop their cars for his older brother and team-mate Carlos Sainz.
And it wasn't long before young Leclerc was thrust into action. He has now driven an F1 car in person for the first time, having been given time behind the wheel of the team's 2022 car in a Pirelli tyre test at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya.
He beamed as he spoke to fans in a video posted on social media after climbing back out of the cockpit. He said: "Hello everyone - first day in a Formula 1 [car] finished! It was just an amazing, incredible experience.
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"The car feels so fast and it's nothing like I've experienced before. It was just crazy. If you had told me just six years ago, before I started [single-seater] motorsport, that I would have done a day in a Formula 1 car on the same track as my brother, I think I would have gone crazy.
"I'm just so happy to have done it. Thank you very much to Scuderia Ferrari for trusting me and giving me this opportunity. I hope to see you all really soon." Young Leclerc will race in the Italian GT championship this year, alongside his development driver role for the Italian carmaker's F1 outfit.
Though this is a notable milestone for the 23-year-old, it feels unlikely his progress will ever culminate in an F1 race seat alongside his brother. He did not make much of an impression in his one and only season at Formula 2 level last year and has been overtaken in the Ferrari junior ranks by British sensation Oliver Bearman.
The 18-year-old, from Chelmsford in Essex, won four races in his debut F2 season and also performed well in FP1 sessions for the Haas team. Bearman has been rewarded for his progress by promotion to the reserve driver role for 2024.
He is the more likely of the two to potentially threaten Sainz's place one day. Unlike his team-mate, the Spaniard has yet to agree a new contract with Ferrari with the sticking point seemingly a difference of opinion over the length of deal on offer. He has other potential options should talks reach an impasse, including the new Audi F1 project.
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