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“The champion of future is my little brother Charles Leclerc”– Jules Bianchi foresaw what Ferrari superstar is capable of long ago

Tanish Chachra
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"The champion of future is my little brother Charles Leclerc"– Jules Bianchi foresaw what Ferrari superstar is capable of long ago

Jules Bianchi long ago saw that Charles Leclerc was a world-class talent and wanted people to stop talking about him and notice the Monegasque.

Charles Leclerc in 2019 became the youngest ever driver to represent Ferrari. He signed a five-year contract with them back then. Even Michael Schumacher never received such a lengthy contract from Ferrari.

And nobody questioned Ferrari for treating Leclerc like this. Because by then, everyone knew that the Monegasque had an exceptional talent and would definitely be a success with the right resources.

And since then, he has only proved his worth and the trust Ferrari kept in him. Leclerc is vying for the championship this year with a faster car.

However, long before Leclerc seriously came under the F1 world’s radar, former F1 driver Jules Bianchi realized Leclerc’s potential. Being a family friend of Leclerc, he got to see the early brilliance of the Monegasque race driver.

While Bianchi was hailed as the next big thing back in the early years of the last decade. Leo Turrini from QN Motori reveals that the French race driver at that time wanted people to see Leclerc instead of him.

Also read: Charles Leclerc explains how he copes up with disappointment when struggling in Formula 1

Charles Leclerc remembers Jules Bianchi

On Sunday, it was Bianchi’s seventh death anniversary. His loss was a huge shock to F1, and it also forced the FIA to make massive strides in upgrading the safety of drivers.

But, Bianchi’s death probably had the biggest impact on Leclerc. The 24-year-old race driver, when he joined Ferrari, dedicated his seat to his mentor.

Even now, he remembers Bianchi. On Sunday, Leclerc posted an image with him from years ago and captioned it: “7 years since you are gone.”

Leclerc still uses his father and Bianchi’s birth and pass-away dates on his helmet. Moreover, he also mentioned Bianchi on his Twitter bio.

Also read: Charles Leclerc thinks that Lewis Hamilton could still win record eighth championship title

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra

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Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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