With F1 drivers currently enjoying the winter break, Charles Leclerc recently visited Los Angeles with his girlfriend and a few other friends. The city is close to Leclerc’s heart as he claims it is a bigger version of Monaco. While visiting the same, the 26-year-old faced a tough question. But the Ferrari driver was quick to think on his feet and came up with a diplomatic answer to avoid stirring up any controversy, as seen in the vlog uploaded by Leclerc on his official YouTube channel.
Leclerc first asked Meta to answer who the best F1 driver in the world was, and he soon faced the question himself. However, Leclerc denied answering the same, claiming it would be inappropriate to say such a thing out loud.
“It’s a personal opinion. It would be inappropriate to answer.”
Given Leclerc‘s global stardom, his naming the best driver in the world on camera might bring in a certain negative spotlight on the Monegasque. As such, opting to not answer the same made the most sense, given how sensitive the topic has become lately.
While he stayed away from taking any names on the current grid, a couple of years ago, Leclerc mentioned he thought Ayrton Senna was perhaps the greatest driver the sport has ever seen.
Charles Leclerc ranks Senna above his Ferrari idol
Having always dreamt of becoming a Ferrari driver, one would think Leclerc would idolize Michael Schumacher and consider him to be the best driver in F1. Per a report from GP Blog from two years ago, Leclerc holds Schumacher in high regard but believes he isn’t the best ever in F1.
Instead, the Ferrari driver claimed it was Ayrton Senna. “He was a person I really look up to. He had a lot of talent, but he also worked very hard. Put those two things together, and it made him the best.”
However, Leclerc hopes to follow in the footsteps of Schumacher and bring glory back to the Ferrari camp. The team made significant progress towards achieving the goal in 2022, but they hit a wall in the middle of the season, halting their run.
In 2023, Ferrari was off to a poor start, bringing in a stark downfall from their 2022 season, but a late surge saw them look like a competitive outfit, especially because of their wind tunnel testing results.
Heading into the 2024 season, the team will be hoping to continue from where they left off in 2023. Meanwhile, fans expect the team to compete at the front of the grid and vie for the championship while primarily aiming to improve on their P3 finish.
