Charles Leclerc: "F1 killed people I loved, but I can't do without it"

Charles Leclerc: “F1 killed people I loved, but I can’t do without it”. Charles on F1 being an inevitably dangerous sport.

“Jules, ah no sorry, Charles.” “Why say sorry? It’s the best compliment I could get!” – with this message posted on her Twitter account, English journalist Natalie Pinkham today wanted to share a very touching moment on the occasion of the seventh anniversary of the death of Jules Bianchi relating to an interview with Charles Leclerc in the past. The Monegasque driver was obviously very attached to the French driver and Leclerc was able to fulfill Bianchi’s dream of racing in Formula 1 behind the wheel of a Ferrari car.

Like Jules Bianchi, Charles Leclerc grew up within the Ferrari Driver Academy. Despite being just 24 years old (he will turn 25 next October 16) Charles Leclerc has already experienced several deaths during his career. Jules Bianchi was the first, then in 2017 he had to metabolize his father’s death in the middle of the Formula 2 season – the drama took place during the Baku round – and finally in 2019 the tragic death of Anthoine Hubert at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, a friend and kart rival to whom Charles wanted to dedicate his first F1 victory the following day.

“I don’t think about the danger” – said Charles Leclerc interviewed by the English tabloid Daily Mail about the fact that F1 is an inevitably dangerous sport – “It is very difficult to see that the people you loved are no longer there because of the sport you adore, but I cannot do without it. I’ve been programmed to race since I was young, I can’t do anything else, I’m only good at racing.”

Charles Leclerc stressed that it is essential to lock oneself in a bubble when entering the cockpit, a different dimension in which the mind is totally focused on racing: “The only aspect I felt guilty about is having put aside in my head the death of my father and a friend of mine. But it was only for a couple of hours”. The grief never really made Charles Leclerc think of stopping: “It was easy to get through that phase, I just wondered what my father would have wanted me to do. I owe everything to him and so I continue racing.” – the Ferrari driver explained.