“There is also a mega-difference between being a contender able to win one or two races during a season to a title contender because you can’t do a mistake, you can’t lose too many points, and you have to manage each race and the season. I am confident he can do that.”
Leclerc mentioned the mistake in Imola was one he would study from and never repeat. He is fueled by the recollections of his father, Hervé, a former Formula 3 driver who died in 2017, shortly earlier than his son signed his first Formula 1 contract.
“When I started winning in karting when I was 7 years old, naturally, you think you are the best, but he was telling me ‘Calm down, Charles’,” Leclerc mentioned. “He was always telling me to stay humble. It was the first thing he ever taught me when I was winning, which has been very useful ever since.”
Since 2011, Leclerc has additionally been supported by his supervisor, Nicolas Todt, the son of Jean Todt, the former president of the F.I.A. There can be a powerful household community that features his brother Arthur, who’s racing for a second season in Formula 3 this 12 months.
Another necessary individual in Leclerc’s life is Jules Bianchi, his godfather, who died in July 2015 from mind accidents he sustained in a crash throughout the Japanese Grand Prix 9 months earlier.
“We were always extremely close,” Leclerc mentioned. “There was definitely an extremely strong connection, and that remains the case through to today.
“At the end of 2010, when my father didn’t have the money to keep me going in karting and it was looking like it was going to be my last year, Jules was kind enough to speak about me to Nicolas who then paid for everything for me until I reached Formula 1.
“So without Jules, I would be nowhere,” he mentioned. “He also taught me so many things when I was younger that allowed me to take my first steps in car racing and have been fundamental for my career and for me as a person. Jules will forever be with me.”
