Charles Leclerc sends emotional six-word message to brother Arthur Leclerc ahead of Abu Dhabi FP1 Ferrari run

Charles Leclerc is in with a chance of being the runner-up in the 2024 Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship.

The Monegasque driver comes into the season finale at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix just eight points behind Lando Norris in second after the previous race in Qatar. Leclerc finished second behind Max Verstappen while Norris was penalised for speeding under yellow flags and finished 10th.

The 27-year-old’s last few races have not been plain sailing as he has hinted that he is suffering some difficulties with Ferrari. 

Leclerc had a huge outburst over his radio in Las Vegas after he finished behind teammate Carlos Sainz in fourth – the Spaniard undercut the Monegasque driver at the final round of pit stops and could not get back past.

In Qatar, Leclerc was involved in a heated exchange with his engineer during Sprint qualifying as he felt he was being fed the wrong information after encountering traffic on track.

But the Ferrari driver will be looking to put that behind him heading into Abu Dhabi to focus on finishing the season strong with Sainz – who will embark on his final race with the Maranello squad before joining Williams.

Charles Leclerc’s touching message to brother Arthur Leclerc as Ferrari make history in Abu Dhabi

However, it will not be Sainz in the second Ferrari alongside Leclerc in FP1 in Abu Dhabi as the team are set to make history.

As part of the mandatory requirement to field a rookie in FP1 in place of every full-time F1 driver across a season, Ferrari will field a debutant this weekend in Arthur Leclerc – Charles’ younger brother.

The session will mark Arthur Leclerc’s first outing on an F1 race weekend and the first time in F1 history that brothers will run in a session as teammates.

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The 24-year-old – who is a Ferrari development driver – has been competing in endurance racing in 2024 in the European Le Mans Series and the Italian GT Endurance Championship.

Having driven in Formula 2 in 2023, Arthur Leclerc will step into the SF-24 for the first time in Abu Dhabi, and his older brother Charles took to his Instagram story to send an emotional message ahead of the session: “Someone is proud from up there”.

The message likely refers to the brothers’ late father Herve Leclerc, who tragically passed away back in 2017.

Charles Leclerc wants to win the Constructors’ Championship with Ferrari

With Max Verstappen already wrapping up the drivers’ title, the Constructors’ Championship is still up the grabs, with McLaren and Ferrari battling it out.

The former leads the latter by 21 points heading into the season finale. Red Bull are out of contention after Sergio Perez’s retirement in Qatar meant Verstappen’s victory was not enough to keep them in the fight.

While the prospect of beating Norris for second in the drivers’ standings is something to focus on, Leclerc says winning the constructors’ title ‘means a lot’ more as the win is still on the cards.

Ferrari have not won the championship since 2008, while McLaren have gone without a win since 1998. Both teams will be keen to end their winless runs and bring back some silverware after failing to dethrone Verstappen.