Charles Leclerc: “What was Ferrari for me before I got there? An unreachable dream. So when I look at myself in red today, I am not only proud of it. It is still, every day, a total emotion. I was very young when I took the opportunity to watch the Monaco GP from a friend’s balcony. On the streets, I was only looking for the red car. I can’t even explain to you why. I was probably born as a Ferrari fan without knowing it. I was just under 5 (years old), when I already knew that driving and racing was what I wanted to do. All I thought about was winning. And having fun. I didn‘t realise until a little later that this could really become my life and profession.”
Is it a burden for me to be where I am?
Charles Leclerc: (smiles): “No, I try to isolate myself from external pressures and I try not to negatively live my role. When I was a kid, I was a crazy kid, as I like to say when people ask me. And I was a very young driver with 95% emotions and only 5% rationality. So I worked a lot on myself, even mentally, to change those proportions. I live this sport with passion and determination. I will never be a cold and rational driver, but there are things that need to be thought through when you are on the track. That’s why today I’m trying to be: 55% reasonable and 45% feelings.”
What do you guys lack in comparison to our opponents?
Charles Leclerc: “I know what they will never have and that only we have: the Tifosi. Millions of fans around the world. The passion that Ferrari creates/arouses, they [other teams] will always envy it. We have rearranged some things within the limits of what the regulations allow us. We cannot promise miracles, but we expect a season with good results in terms of engine and aerodynamics. I know how good it made me feel as a kid to see my idols on the podium, winning races and titles. And so I know how much we need to do well.”
Your new teammate Carlos Sainz wants to win the title in 5 years.
Charles Leclerc (jokes): “I would make it shorter: let’s do it within two or three years! I believe in the team and the people who work at Ferrari. I focus 100% on my work and myself, trying to be the best version of myself. But that’s not enough. And I’m not so arrogant as to think that I can achieve success on my own. Whether it was Seb or Carlos today, on the track the stopwatch makes a difference and everyone wants to be the fastest. Getting out of the cockpit, though, you have to know that by helping the team you’re also helping yourself. For me it’s 33.33% for each of the 3 three things (I think he means driver / car / team). Everything has to work as well as it can or you don’t win.”
Charles: “The passage from F2 to F1 was like a leap forward. Only when I got to the top, I realized how everything had changed.
In these threw years since my debut, I have acquired a lot of maturity. I didn’t know what a closed environment the “F1 circus” was. From the outside you can’t understand how much pressure there is.”
Yet you convey so much serenity.
Charles Leclerc: “But it’s not innated. I worked a lot on the mental aspect, on concentration. I also learned to relativize after the episodes I have had in my personal life. I put everything into perspective and realized that motorsport is what I like, but that is not everything. It’s not my whole life. As a professional I have changed, as a person I have become more closed, reserved, to protect myself. There are those who want to approach me not because I am a good person, but only because I am a Ferrari driver. And that made me more cautious.”
Charles: I miss them [his father and Jules] every day. I race for them too, hoping they will be proud of me. Not having them anymore takes away love, of course, but also very important advice. My father and Jules were the ones I went to when I was at a crossroad: with my career or my private life. Yes, those two losses made me grow up much faster than other people my age. And neither of them managed to see me driving a Ferrari….”
What would that moment have been like? Who knows how many times you’ve tried to imagine it?
Charles Leclerc: “With dad, there would have been so many tears. I know how much he sacrificed for me, to bring me here, he would have been super proud. With Jules, pats on the back and laughter, and from the time I was five until I was 13 I spent every weekend at his family’s track in the south of France. These are the best memories. We competed with friends, it was pure joy of life.”
Little Charles wants to get where you are? What would you tell him?
Charles Leclerc: “I would tell him to keep on dreaming, to always aim for the stars, to have determination and patience, because at times I have not been merciful towards myself. But you can’t forget that this is a job but also a sport. And that to be really happy, you have to love what you are and what you do!”
Charles Leclerc on Italy: “What can I say, it’s my second home. I used to come here a lot when I was racing karts. I lived in Italy for a while.”
Charles about streaming on Twitch: “We used the video games to help the fans who were at home during the lockdown, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that we drivers wanted to win on the virtual grid as well: we are always competitive.”
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