Charles Leclerc has been one of the most talented youngsters to embrace F1 in recent years. With his skill set, the Monegasque driver has garnered a lot of praise for his superb qualifying pace. Given his intense love for racing, one may wonder where the desire originated from. His father is the answer to it. Leclerc has previously disclosed that his father instilled a love of racing in both him and his brother. Interestingly, for this special influence, Leclerc also honored his dad by dedicating a helmet to him, which ended up fetching $331,000.
A video that was posted on the fan page for Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz features Charles Leclerc and his brother Arthur discussing a very special period in their lives.
As the video goes on, Leclerc disclosed that he and Arthur will both be paying honor to their father over the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix weekend by designing helmets that have the same tone as their dad’s. Leclerc said, “Our father gave us the passion for racing. We took exactly the same design. I’m sure he will be very proud of us seeing both of us racing in Monaco.”
This special helmet, which Leclerc donned for Monaco race weekend, then became the most expensive headgear. This occurred because the Monegasque put the autographed Red and White Bell HP 78 helmet for auction to raise funds for the Emilia-Romagna region’s victims.
Leclerc raised a staggering $331,000 for his special helmet. Apart from Charles Leclerc, Arthur Leclerc was also seen donning the unique helmet which was similar to Herve Leclerc’s headgear.
Since then, the time has been great for both the Leclerc brothers. Infact Charles Leclerc has even secured an extended deal with Ferrari. However, there was an instance when the 26-year-old lied to his father about signing a Ferrari contract.
What lie did Charles Leclerc tell his father about Ferrari before entering F1?
For many of the aspiring Formula 1 drivers out there, Leclerc’s journey through the ranks has served as an inspiration. However, like several underprivileged racing drivers, Leclerc also had financial difficulties at the start of his career. Despite these obstacles, his family stood by him, providing unwavering support.
Leclerc’s mother put in a lot of overtime as a hairdresser to assist him financially. Although when the expenses skyrocketed and went beyond Pascale, Leclerc’s current team Ferrari entered the scene and helped the Leclerc family at this point.
With Ferrari’s support, the Monegasque prodigy began to display his incredible talent gradually, and this helped him win the 2016 GP3 Series and the 2017 F2 Series. However, by June 2017, when Leclerc was halfway through his maiden F2 season, his father’s health appeared to be deteriorating. As he watched his father’s health suffer, Leclerc told him something that Herve died believing.
The #16 driver revealed to his father that he had committed to a contract with an F1 team for the upcoming 2018 campaign. However, it’s interesting to note that he didn’t sign any contracts until June 2017.
Speaking about it to BBC Leclerc said, “It was a bit earlier than I had really signed, but in the end, I didn’t lie because I am here and now in Ferrari, which feels incredible.” At last, despite having lied to his father, Charles Leclerc signed a deal with Sauber in 2018, and then got his Ferrari promotion for 2019, making his lie a reality.
