During the closing moments of the 2024 Monaco GP which Charles Leclerc won, thoughts of his father were raging through the Monegasque’s head. Herve Leclerc helped Charles become what he is today, but unfortunately, couldn’t live to see him reach the pinnacle of motorsports. Still, there is one thing that Charles learned, even from his father’s passing.
On the Jay Shetty Podcast, Leclerc spoke about the huge hole his father left behind when he died in 2017. While it was heartbreaking to deal with, it also helped Leclerc grow and mature. At just 19, he got to know what togetherness meant.
“I think it’s made me grow faster. I lost my father in 2017. So I was obviously very young. And to lose him at that age made me an adult much, much faster.”
Leclerc, despite not being a grownup at the time, had to take care of his mother and younger brother Arthur. On the other hand, his older brother (10 years older), assumed responsibility for the whole family. Overall, this tragedy brought them all closer, despite some ‘clashes’ in the past.
“I was in the age of around 14 to 19, where you are always clashing a little bit with your parents. After that, I think it puts us all together much, much closer than before.”
The painful reality of losing his father made a huge impact on Leclerc’s life. However, he looked on the bright side of perhaps the most difficult situation he ever had to deal with. And he came out with valuable lessons.
Charles Leclerc recalls the moment he got word of his father’s death
Leclerc was gearing up for his F2 race weekend in Azerbaijan when he got news of his father’s death. Asking himself what his father would want him to do, the Monegasque had a clear answer in his head.
Leclerc’s father loved racing and watching him compete. As a result, the most important thing to do was try and finish P1, to honor his father’s memory the best he could.
On the podcast, he said,
“I knew I had to go there and do absolutely everything to try and win the race. And that gave me an extra motivation as well to make him proud from up there.”
This shows Leclerc’s maturity from a very young age. That weekend in Azerbaijan, Leclerc not only participated but did what he thought he should do. He qualified on pole and won the outing, dedicating the victory to his late father.
Just a few months later, he would win the F2 Championship at just 19 years of age and would land a contract in F1 with Sauber. Fast forward to 2024 and he is one of the sport’s biggest stars, driving for his dream team – Ferrari.
