It was back to karting for Charles Leclerc: the talented Monaco-born driver, ready for his F1 debut with Alfa Romeo-Sauber, allowed himself a day of kart training which also turned out to be something of a trip down memory lane of his karting past.

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Then again, it’s well known that the karting is one of the best training methods even for professional motorsports drivers. What’s more, Leclerc was racing karts until just a few years ago, a fruitful period both in terms of results and, it would seem, personal enjoyment.

For his “return” the Monaco native chose Lonato’s South Garda Karting circuit, a track that’s always been highly rated by karters, especially in view of the upcoming Winter Cup, the classic international race that will be run the weekend of February 17-18.
Leclerc didn’t hesitate to rub elbows with the many drivers present; in fact, he took advantage of the “traffic” to see how he measured up, one more time, against the colleagues with whom he'd battled during his karting days.

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As a driver under the management of Nicolas Todt, choosing which kart to use posed no particular problems for Leclerc: it would obviously be a Birel Art (a company born from the partnership between the historic Birel and Nicolas Todt’s Art Grand Prix) equipped with a TM KZ engine.

Leclerc found many familiar faces both under the tent and out on the track: Davide Forè, now team manager of the Birel Art team, Birel Art’s president Ronnie Sala, and TM’s head of karting Franco Drudi. All figures who crossed paths with the French champion during his formative karting years.
Years in which Leclerc put together a notable collection of achievements: in 2011 the KF3 World Cup and the CIK FIA Academy Trophy made the extremely young driver’s talent clear to everyone. In 2012, after moving up to the KF2 category (current OK), came victory in the WSK Euro Series and second place in the European Championship. Finally, in 2013, his last year in karting, Leclerc moved to the KZ category and thus showcased his significant talent with shifter karts as well, obtaining a sixth place in the CIK-FIA European Championship and, most significantly, a second place in the World Championship behind one of his upcoming opponents in F1, Max Verstappen.

Despite the fact that it was a training session, and on a rather crowded track to boot, Leclerc didn’t hold back. He registered quite respectable lap times, took to heart Davide Forè’s advice, and didn’t back away from a few wheel-to-wheel clashes with the other drivers on the track.

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