Ex-Ferrari Team Principal Recalls How Charles Leclerc Amazed Him on Day 1

Charles Leclerc earned the moniker of a future world champion even before he joined Ferrari in 2019. Former Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene recently revealed how a young Leclerc impressed him, when the Monegasque looked him straight in the eye during their first meeting.

Leclerc joined the Ferrari Driver Academy (FDA) in 2016 when Arrivabene was heading the team. Arrivabene told Corriere della Sera, “He didn’t lower his gaze, he looked me straight in the eyes”. The Italian manager added, “I was convinced to take him. An old master in F1 told me that you can recognize a champion by how he looks at you”.

Arrivabene also mentioned another anecdote of Leclerc’s dedication when the Monegasque decided to take part in his Formula 2 race shortly after the death of his father. The 67-year-old praised Leclerc by saying,

“He amazed me again when, shortly after his father’s death, he boarded the team flight for the F2 race. I asked him: ‘Charles, what are you doing here?’ and he said, ‘There’s a race, I want to win it for my father’, and he won”.

On 20th June 2017, Charles Leclerc lost his father, just hours before the F2 Baku GP weekend.
With invincible grit and perseverance, he took the plane to Azerbaijan, to dominate the feature race.
A display of resilience, strength and brilliant talent. Wonder who did the same? pic.twitter.com/odtatSOLIc

— thatferraristaboi ️ (@scuderiabiscuit) August 20, 2021

Unfortunately, Herve Leclerc never got to see his son racing in Formula 1, especially in the iconic Scarlet red Ferrari. He passed away in 2017 after a long-fought battle with illness. However, Leclerc had lied to his father merely days before his death that his racing career was starting to take off.

Leclerc turned the lie to his father into reality

Leclerc told his father a couple of days before his death that he had already signed a Formula 1 contract. While it was a lie at the time, it was only a month later that he signed with Sauber for the 2018 season and the rest is history.

Ferrari promoted Leclerc to join the team in 2019 after a promising debut season with Sauber and he has never looked back since. After many failed attempts, Leclerc finally broke the Monaco curse and won his home race this season to become the first Monegasque driver to win the official F1 Monaco Grand Prix.

It looked like it was the first of the many victories to come in the season for Leclerc. However, Ferrari’s recent slump in form due to failed upgrades has cost him dearly and Lando Norris has even overtaken him for the second place in the driver’s championship.