The families of motorsport drivers make immense sacrifices to help their dreams come true. One major sacrifice the families make is dealing with the stresses they face when the drivers race at incredibly high speeds and risk their lives each time they are out on track.
Charles Leclerc may not have realized this while he competes in F1 himself, but does experience similar feelings when he watches his brother, Arthur Leclerc, race. “Whenever I’m in control and I’m racing, not one part of me thinks about the potential risk [while] doing that,” he said on the Jay Shetty podcast. “However, when I see someone I love a lot doing exactly the same thing, then you see the things very differently.”
“It’s not as enjoyable to watch racing when my brother is racing because it’s just super scary and I get super, super stressed,” he added. Like Charles, Arthur is also a very quick racing driver and has achieved success in other categories such as the European Le Mans series, in which he racked up one win and clinched two pole positions.
The Leclercs will make history in Abu Dhabi as Arthur joins brother Charles for FP1 ❤️#F1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/KR6TdVsRKX
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 4, 2024
Although Arthur has proven that he can be a very handy driver, it is never easy for anyone to deal with the fear of potentially losing their loved ones through accidents in motorsport. This feeling holds all the more true for Charles, who has lost two people — Jules Bianchi and Anthoine Hubert — who were very close to him.
Charles once opened up about the loss of Hubert and Bianchi
Bianchi, who was Charles’ godfather, sadly passed away after sustaining injuries during the 2014 Japanese GP. In order to reveal what Bianchi meant to him, Charles put up an emotional post last year when he decided to pay tribute to the late Frenchman via his crash helmet.
“A special helmet in memory of a very special person for me,” wrote Charles. “10 years this year since we have lost Jules here in Japan. So many memories together that I’ll never ever forget. I miss you“.
Five years after the passing away of Bianchi, Charles lost another close one. Hubert, who was a dear friend of his, was plying his trade in Formula 2 back in 2019.
He passed away during a race at the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit while racing in the feeder series. Charles went on to win the Grand Prix the next day (his maiden F1 win) and decided to dedicate it to his friend.
“We have lost a friend first of all. It is very difficult in this situation. I would like to dedicate my first win to him,” Charles said with mixed emotions after his maiden win in Belgium. “We have grown up together. My first ever race I did with Anthoine when we were younger, there was Esteban [Ocon], Pierre [Gasly]. I can’t fully enjoy my first victory, but it will definitely be a memory I will keep forever“.
