Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc is part of a remarkable generation of young drivers in Formula 1, such as Max Verstappen, George Russell, Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll (they were all contemporaries in karting), while McLaren’s Lando Norris is close behind them.
The Ferrari driver shares the same view as George Russell: “The fact that we have raced together since a very long time has made all of us stronger, because we’ve always pushed each other to improve, and that’s why I believe we are a very strong generation”. – the Monegasque driver said, in a recent interview for BBC’s Andrew Benson.
During their free time, the friendship and on track rivalries have moved on to the golf course. Charles Leclerc, Albon and Norris play regularly, a good way to enjoy themselves, but being elite sportsmen, they also want to beat each other. It seems an odd fit for Formula 1 drivers, even if famously Nigel Mansell was a quality golfer. What’s the appeal?
“I don’t even know myself because it’s such a frustrating sport!” Charles admitted – “And I always get super-frustrated because whenever I play with them, I don’t play well. But there’s something about it that every single small detail makes a difference. In golf, if you don’t exactly have the right mindset to hit the ball, then you already know that the ball is going to go everywhere, but not where you want it to go. So I think, mentally, it’s a very good exercise and that’s why we love it so much as drivers.” – he added.
The Monegasque driver was also asked about his duels with Max Verstappen, especially from the first part of the season, when Charles secured two victories from the first free races in 2023. Despite the fact that Charles and the Red Bull driver have fought for the lead on track in several races, even passed and re-passed each a few times, there have been none of the flashpoints seen between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in the previous championship.
This is a rivalry that dates right back to their karting days, more than 10 years ago. At that time, Charles Leclerc admits, “Max and myself were extremely aggressive and that’s why it didn’t end up very well most of the time. When we were younger, it was a bit more messy and obviously we were kids. But now the relationship has improved, and there’s a lot of respect.”
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The Monegasque driver is aware that their battle could become more fiery in the future: “It depends on the situation, on the person you’re facing, your opponent. How far is he willing to go? This year, either I had a big advantage in the championship and then you are not really willing to take those risks. Or he had a big advantage in the championship and he is not really willing to risk. Or I am not really willing to risk because I need to catch up points. So, I feel like the championship of last year was probably much more prone to see these type of things because it was so close until the very end. I would have expected us to be much more like this if the championship will be extremely close towards the end. [If] it’s not finished, then we might see that at the end of the year.” – the Ferrari driver explained, as reported by BBC.
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