Ferrari F1 driver Charles Leclerc given major OLYMPIC honor for Paris games

Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Bahrain, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 Off The Track

Ferrari driver gets major OLYMPIC honor for Paris games

Unfortunately, we won't see any F1 cars racing around the streets of the French capital

Rhys Thomas

Monday 17 June 2024 21:00

A Ferrari driver has been give a significant honor ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

The Games are due to commence on the 26th July with the opening ceremony, though some events will already have taken place by then.

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Motorsport has never officially been part of the Olympics, despite racing events being held as part of the Paris 1900 Games.

The explanation for the sport's omission can be found in the Olympic Charter, which states that “sports, disciplines or events in which performance depends essentially on mechanical propulsion are not acceptable.”

Carlos Sainz took victory at the Australian Grand Prix

But Ferrari suffered a double DNF last time out in Canda

How is F1 involved in the Paris 2024 Olympics?

Since 1900, motorsport has only featured adjacent to the Olympics, and that is set to be the case again in 2024.

Ferrari ace Charles Leclerc will have the honour of carrying the Olympic torch as one of Monaco's prestigious torchbearers.

The Monegasque will carry the torch as it passes through his hometown on June 18, and will then pass it on to fellow Monaco athletes before Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene finish the torch's passage through the principality.

Charles Leclerc won at home in Monaco, and will now carry the Olympic torch there

This will mark the continuation of a proud year around the streets of Monte Carlo for Leclerc, who last month won his home race there for the first time.

If any Monaco athlete steps onto a podium in Paris, the principality will lose its unwanted title of the most Olympic appearances without a medal (32, 21 summer games and 11 winter games).

The Olympic torch is continuing its journey around France and its overseas territories before reaching the opening ceremony in Paris.

Whilst the US' only F1 driver Logan Sargeant's future is in doubt, perhaps there will be a more established driver on the grid in time to take part in the torch's journey for Los Angeles 2028.

Ferrari Mercedes Carlos Sainz Hamilton