DAMS Signs Arthur Leclerc For 2023 FIA F2 Season

DAMS have signed Arthur Leclerc to race for the team in 2023 FIA F2 season.

Leclerc has spent the last two seasons racing in FIA Formula 3 with PREMA during which he claimed three race victories plus two further podium finishes – albeit in second place at the 2021 Hungarian Feature Race and 2022 Bahrain Feature Race.

The 22 year-old Monegasque – younger brother of F1’s Charles Leclerc – though could only manage tenth and sixth-placed championship finishes across both seasons in F3, yet has impressed DAMS who has swooped to sign the Ferrari Driver Academy member.

Speaking about his decision to move up to F2 with DAMS, Leclerc said that he is “delighted” to join a “very successful team” in DAMS and is hopeful that he can write his own success within the team to add to their proven history of producing F1 talent.

This season though saw DAMS get taken over by Charles Pic who has guided the team to two victories and four podiums throughout the campaign, courtesy of Red Bull junior – Ayumu Iwasa as the team finished sixth in the teams’ standings.

Acknowledging Pic’s immediate impact at DAMS, Leclerc said: “Charles Pic has done an amazing job to help the team back to winning ways throughout the season and I’m aiming to keep that going next year.”

Leclerc will drive for DAMS in the 2022 FIA F2 Post-Season Test, but admits that there is still progress to be made, as he concluded: “We’ve a lot of work to do before the start of the new campaign in Bahrain in March, and I’m really looking forward to getting started in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi!”

Pic added that securing Leclerc for next season is “great” for the team, with high confidence that the 22 year-old is “capable of challenging for victories.”

On DAMS’ targets for next season, Pic stated that the ambition is to enjoy “a strong campaign in 2023,” with belief that Leclerc can help the team achieve their goals.

Leclerc’s only single-seater title so far in his career came at the start of 2022 as he won the Formula Regional Asian Championship, during which he claimed four race wins.