Charles Leclerc fulfilled his lifelong dream of winning the Monaco GP and standing on the podium’s top step in front of his home fans. One supporter who was missing, however, was his father, who passed away in 2017. But, throughout his final few laps, Leclerc had him in mind. Now, that the race is over, the Monegasque looks back on how his father was different from others in the paddock.
Appearing on the Jay Shetty podcast, Leclerc spoke about his dad’s different approach. Other fathers in F1 tend to stay close to their children, guiding, motivating, and pushing them. “He was always doing [taking] a step back from that,” Leclerc reveals.
The 26-year-old says that his father, Herve Leclerc, wanted him to grow as a driver and a person. For that, he wanted Charles to interact with members of the team, mechanics, and others in the paddock. However, his father would tell him everything he noticed at the end of every week.
“Then [I] have the discussion at the end of the weekend. ‘Okay I saw that’, ‘This you should have done better’, ‘This was amazing'”, Leclerc says while recalling what all his father told him.
The Ferrari driver then tells Shetty that Herve Leclerc was always “super supportive”.
Leclerc’s father taught him to have good and supportive people close to him, especially during tough times. Looking back on how his father would behave during race weekends, Leclerc admits it was of “huge help.”
Charles Leclerc turns to his father’s advice, even today
In the podcast, Jay Shetty honors Charles‘ dad Herve Leclerc, calling him an “amazing man”. He then proceeds to ask the Monegasque about any special word of advice his father left for him, which he still follows to date.
“To always stay humble, and grateful. I think these are the two words that he always said,” Leclerc replies.
Charles Leclerc:
“I have to say I was thinking about my dad a lot while driving. He did everything possible for me to be here.”
I’M CRYING pic.twitter.com/8881fyqkKu
— Ferrari News (@FanaticsFerrari) May 26, 2024
He goes on to say that because of his father, he never developed arrogance. When he was six years old, he was one of the best in karting, and would get smug about the fact that he would surely get to F1 one day. Herve would drag him down to earth, and remind him that the pinnacle of motorsport was a long way away.
Leclerc’s humility, in addition to his talent, brought him to F1, and Ferrari eventually. And those values being reflected week in and week out, are what makes Charles Leclerc one of the most popular personalities in the paddock.
