Like last year, the Monegasque’s younger brother will replace Hamilton in the first test session. In the end-of-season tests there will then be room for young Dino Beganovic, who has already driven the red car in the free practices in Bahrain and Austria
Arthur and Charles, together again in the Ferrari. In Free Practice 1 in Abu Dhabi, the Leclerc brothers will be at the wheel of the two Maranello single-seaters, in a sort of high-speed family reunion. Already last year the 25-year-old from Monaco had joined his brother Charles at the wheel of the red car and on Friday he will do an encore by replacing Lewis Hamilton: “It will be really exciting, I can’t wait.”
WHAT WILL ARTHUR DO
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The task of the youngest of the Leclerc brothers is clear: “I will have to provide the right feedback to the engineers to improve the correlation between track and simulator”. And the virtual track has so far been the training ground for Arthur, chosen as Development Driver for the Scuderia. The Monegasque then had the opportunity to drive the 2023 single-seater as part of the TPC tests organized by the team on the Fiorano track. “From a technical point of view, driving the single-seater on the track is always useful for us drivers who support the team from the Maranello simulator – he explained – I prepared by training my neck, which is the part that is most affected by G forces, and then a lot of running”.
THE BEGINNINGS AND MAMMA PASCALE
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Arthur’s racing career started late. It was impossible for the Leclerc family to finance two children when Charles was already on track. Today, however, seeing them run together is a nice gift for mother Pascale, who follows her children along the track when she can. F1, in fact, is full of family crossbreeds: the Schumacher duo, made up of Michael and Ralf, undoubtedly remains the best known, but there were also the Stewarts, with the lesser-known Jimmy who took part in only one GP, Emerson and Wilson Fittipaldi, Ian and Jody Scheckter. The Rodriguez brothers, after whom the Mexico City circuit is named, never raced together, while Teo and Corrado Fabi came very close: they both drove the Brabham in 1984, but took turns at the wheel of the same car.
THERE IS ALSO BEGANOVIC
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And that’s not all. After the Abu Dhabi GP, a day of end-of-season testing is scheduled, in which Ferrari will field both SF-25s. Alternating on the first red, modified to accommodate the 2026 Pirelli tires will be the two starters, Leclerc and Hamilton. Dino Beganovic will be in the other Cavallino car. The 21-year-old from Linköping, Sweden, has been part of the Maranello Academy since 2020 and races for Hitech GP in Formula 2. During the season he has already driven the 2025 red car in free practice in Bahrain and Austria and on Monday he will return behind the wheel of a Maranello single-seater.
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