Charles Leclerc/Instagram
Charles Leclerc on February 26, 2025 in Bahrain, Bahrain ; Charles Leclerc and his fatherIlana FrostSat, November 22, 2025 at 4:00 PM UTC·7 min readNEED TO KNOW
Charles Leclerc was born to Hervé and Pascale Leclerc in 1997 in Monaco
Hervé was a Formula 3 driver himself before he had to quit due to financial reasons
Leclerc's dad helped support his son's career until his death in 2017
From the karting circuit to Formula 1 races, Charles Leclerc has always had the support of his parents, Hervé and Pascale Leclerc.
Hervé and Pascale welcomed Charles on Oct. 16, 1997, and raised him in Monaco alongside his two brothers, Lorenzo and Arthur. Hervé, a former Formula 3 driver, passed down his love of motorsport to his sons, while Pascale worked as a hairdresser, per Lorenzo’s April 2025 essay for The Monegasque. In 2017, Hervé tragically died before Charles won a Formula 2 race in Baku, Azerbaijan, per ESPN.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAfter winning the Monaco Grand Prix in May 2024, Charles spoke about the role his parents played in helping him reach that moment.
“I did not only accomplish my own dream, but also the one of my father, the one of my mother as well, that has sustained me in everything I have done,” he told Formula 1.
Charles added, “She has been an incredibly strong woman when we all lost my dad.” He remains close with his mother, who still cuts his hair, per his YouTube vlogs.
Here’s everything to know about Charles Leclerc’s parents, Hervé and Pascale Leclerc.
They shared three kids
Joe Portlock - Formula 1/Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty
Race winner Arthur Leclerc of Monaco and Prema Racing (4) celebrates with brothers Lorenzo Leclerc and Charles Leclerc on July 03, 2022 in Northampton, EnglandHervé and Pascale raised their three sons — Lorenzo, Charles and Arthur — in Monaco. Pascale welcomed Lorenzo in her first marriage. The eldest Leclerc brother wrote in an essay for The Monegasque that he lived with his mom in Hyères and Marseille before she divorced her first husband and met Hervé.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThey moved to Monaco, where the couple welcomed two more boys: Charles and Arthur.
Arthur is a racing driver like Charles, while Lorenzo pursued a master’s degree in management with a specialization in finance and joined a Swiss wealth management firm. “My brothers and I continue to support one another in the pursuit of our dreams,” Lorenzo wrote.
During a July 2021 interview with CNN, Charles shared that his upbringing in Monaco taught him about hard work and respecting others.
“Monaco has given me most of the values that I try to share in Formula 1,” he reflected. "I’m just very, very proud and very happy to be born there.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHervé was also a racing driver
Charles Leclerc/Instagram
Charles Leclerc and his fatherHervé competed in Formula 3 in the 1980s and 1990s, but never made it to Formula 1 like his son. “Motorsport was his greatest passion,” Lorenzo reflected in his April 2025 The Monegasque article. “At 18, he entered a racing contest in France, and his impressive performances earned him the chance to compete in the F3 Championship.”
Lorenzo noted that when Hervé wasn’t able to make it to F1 “due to a lack of funding,” he ended his racing career. After retiring from the sport, Hervé worked for Mecaplast, the plastic injection molding company founded by his stepfather, Charles “Charly” Manni.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“I often wonder if Charly could have supported Hervé to reach F1,” Lorenzo wrote, adding, “Probably, yes.” He noted that although this may have “frustrated” Hervé, he did well working for the business for many years.
Pascale is a hairdresser
Charles Leclerc/Instagram
Charles Leclerc and his mom Pascale LeclercPascale is a hairdresser in Monaco. In a September 2024 clip on X, former F1 driver David Coulthard said he had gotten his hair cut by her for years before realizing she was Charles’ mother.
“She never mentioned that her son was in racing,” Coulthard said, recalling that he recognized her at a race. “When I bumped into her when he was with Sauber, at the French Grand Prix, I went, ‘What are you doing here?’ She said, ‘My son’s [racing]!’ ” When Coulthard asked why she never told him, Pascale replied, “You never stop talking.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementPascale also continues to cut her son’s hair, which he’s documented in YouTube vlogs and on Facebook. In a June 2024 YouTube video titled “A Weekend I’ll Remember Forever,” Charles said, “The GP week is starting. This is the sign — I’m getting my hair cut by mom.”
Hervé died in 2017
Charles Leclerc/Instagram
Charles Leclerc and his familyIn 2017, Hervé died at the age of 54 after spending several months in the hospital, per Lorenzo’s The Monegasque essay. He died just days before Charles, then still a teenager, won the feature race at the Formula 2 round in Baku.
“Obviously everything was still very fresh for me, so it was difficult to manage mentally,” Charles recalled to ESPN about the Baku race during a May 2024 interview. “You've got these flashbacks of all these moments that we have spent together, all the sacrifices that he has done for me to get to where I am.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe racing driver added, “It's not only my dream, but it was both of our dreams to get there.”
Two days before Hervé died, Charles told him a lie — that he’d made it to Formula 1 and signed the contract. “My mom was pretty angry with me, telling me, ‘You shouldn’t lie to your father,’ ” Charles shared on the On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast in May 2024. “That stayed in me for months. Luckily, I signed my contract a month later.”
After that, he was able to find inner “peace,” knowing he hadn’t lied after all.
Pascale gets nervous about Charles racing
GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty
Charles Leclerc celebrates with his mother Pascale Leclerc after winning the Italian Formula One Grand Prix race at Autodromo Nazionale Monza circuit, in Monza on September 1, 2024During an August 2022 interview with GQ, Charles revealed that his mother often calls him, concerned about the dangers of his sport. He shared that his godfather and mentor, Jules Bianchi, died in a crash in 2015 at the age of 25.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“So it’s tough on my mother,” Charles explained to the outlet. “And I don’t know what to tell her. Other than: I love what I do. There’s nothing in particular I can say to make her feel better.” He admitted that he doesn’t promise to be careful because that “wouldn’t be true.”
“She knows: It’s a dangerous sport,” he said. “It got massively safer through the years. But it will remain forever a dangerous sport.”
Charles added that his mother understands he’s “happiest” behind the wheel.
They were always supportive of Charles
Charles Leclerc/Instagram
Charles Leclerc and his fatherBoth Hervé and Pascale consistently supported Charles throughout his career. On his official website, a section titled “The Important People” is dedicated to his family. According to the site, his parents “always supported and encouraged him, making personal sacrifices so that he could follow his dream.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCharles has echoed this in interviews and on social media. “My whole family was supporting and obviously dreaming of that moment, which makes it even more special,” he told ESPN in May 2024, after his Monaco Grand Prix victory.
In a heartfelt June 2022 Instagram tribute in honor of the 5th anniversary of his father's death, Charles shared photos of the two, writing, “My father has done absolutely everything for me to get to where I am today. I am so grateful to have had him in my life.”
Charles further opened up about his mother’s support during a July 2023 interview with The Guardian.
“My mum, of course, is always there for me for personal advice,” he shared. “I always know I can call my mum, she is always there for me, but she lacks the technical side.” Charles explained that Pascale is “not too much into motorsport.”
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