Ferrari’s star discusses the fan environment at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, gives insight on what fans should look for this weekend and talks about his passion beyond the grid.
MIAMI—Behind many people there’s often a village, filled with others who have made sacrifices to support one’s quest to chase their dreams.
For Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, one of those individuals is his late father, Hervé Leclerc, who was a dominant racer himself in Formula 3 throughout the 1980s and ’90s. And although his father died in 2017, the rising Ferrari sensation still credits him to this day for helping him rise to the top of his game.
Racing is in Charles’s DNA.
The 24-year-old has won two out of the four Formula 1 races so far this year—the season-opener in Bahrain and later in Australia. He was not far off from victory in Saudi Arabia, landing on the podium, in second, and close again in Imola when a late race incident on the chicane caused him to slide to the latter half of the top 10 after pitting for a new front wing and tires, ending in sixth. The last time he had two wins to his name was in 2019 after back-to-back victories in Spa and Monza, his first season with Ferrari.
The Italy-based team is the only squad to compete in every season since the world championship began, in 1950. Since then, Ferrari has tallied 16 world titles and finished first in 239 races prior to the beginning of the ’22 campaign.
The Prancing Horse used to run with the big dogs, winning a then-unprecedented five consecutive title doubles (driver and constructor) during the 2000s era with Michael Schumacher. However, it has not won a constructors title since ’08 and its last world title was in ’07, with Kimi Raikkonen. The tides have seemed to shift now, however, with the one-two punch of Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari leads Red Bull by just 11 points. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has been one of Leclerc’s main competitors this season as the Dutchman won the other two races.
But now, all eyes turn to the Sunshine State, on a circuit that has never been raced on and was built around one of NFL’s most iconic stadiums.
As F1 prepares to race in Miami, Sports Illustrated spoke with the Monegasque star about the inaugural Grand Prix, his love for piano and advice from his father that continues to stay with him.
Courtesy of Ferrari
Fuel for Thought is Sports Illustrated’s exclusive Q&A with Formula One’s biggest names. The following questions and answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.
Sports Illustrated: What stood out to you about Imola that did not make the headlines?
Charles Leclerc: The default is just the support that we get inside the track, which there are lots of media around the track so it’s it’s seen but also outside of the truck wherever we go in Italy. It’s just something crazy. There’s so, so much support. This feels obviously absolutely amazing. Something else also is the motorhomes we get for the different races. Quite a few drivers are renting some motorhomes, and we stay in a small village altogether. This, I’m not sure many people speak about it, but I think it’s fun. It reminds us a little bit of the karting days.
SI: How would you describe the fan environment in Italy because we can see and hear it through the TV but I’m sure it’s quite different in person.
CL: It’s incredible. I mean, the amount of support and how much passion they have for the sport and for Ferrari is something that I don’t think anybody has apart from from the Ferrari team. It really feels like you are part of their family and that they are going through the good moments and also the bad moments with you, and it feels amazing. I will spend probably 40 minutes just coming into or leaving the track because there were too many people asking for pictures. It gives you, definitely, an extra motivation arriving to the track and seeing so many people supporting you.
SI: Looking ahead to Miami, what should we be watching for? What part of the track do you think is going to be the most challenging, and why?
CL: The part of the tracking that I’m looking most forward to are the tricky parts from turn 11 to turn 16. I think that this is going to be very special because it’s only in Miami that we get to have such a tricky part like this. It’s corner after corner, very tight, and this will be very, very exciting. Overall, not only about the track, but I just can’t wait to be in Miami. A lot of people are speaking about it. I feel like everyone is going there.
So there will be a lot of people there and seeing how much F1 has grown in the past years, in Austin especially, it’s great to go to a big city like Miami. I’m also really looking forward to visiting Miami for the first time. It will be great to see, and it also feels like they’ve tried to do different things and give a different experience to the fans with the Marina. I think there will be some boats around the track, the different fan zones that seems to be very special and very different to what we are used to. It’s going to be a big show, and I can’t wait to see that.
SI: What have you heard about Miami since you haven’t been here before?
CL: Only good things, to be honest. Loads of my friends have been there. Loads of people have talked to me about the parties. Unfortunately for me, I won’t be able to experience that side of it. But yeah, just an overall extremely good quality of life. I’ve got some friends living there too. So just good things, and I’ll have some of my friends giving me a bit of a tour of Miami the first few days when I have some free time.
SI: Switching gears, how would you describe the atmosphere within Ferrari this season?
CL: A good atmosphere. After the last two years that have been very difficult for the team—we’ve been struggling as a team—but we’ve been working extremely well, and to finally be back at the top and to finally be back fighting for victories feels amazing. There’s a lot of optimism, everyone is working extremely hard with a lot of motivation. And it’s beautiful to see we’re leading both of the championships, the constructors and the drivers. There’s just a lot of motivation within the team, which is great to see.
SI: The fans obviously know the success that you’ve had on the track but who is Charles Leclerc?
CL: A normal person. I mean, whenever I go to a track again, I feel special for driving for such a team, and again with the fans, it just feels incredible. But on the other hand, I have my private life where I’m just a normal 24-year-old guy, with passion for different things. I love music. I love playing piano. It relaxes me; it makes me think about something else, and I’m just happy whenever I play music. Sports in general, football, any kind of sports really. When it’s outside, I just enjoy it. And spending time with my family and friends in Monaco. It’s a bit like a small village; everyone knows each other. It’s just a great feeling. I started karting also when I was very young. I was three-and-a-half years old. Straightaway, loved this sport and fell in love with the sport with my father helped me massively to get to the top, and now, I’m living the dream so I have a very happy life but I’m just a normal guy besides what I do on track.
SI: What is your happy place outside of the track and racing?
CL: Being around my family, my friends, my girlfriend and playing piano, probably.
SI: Do you have a favorite song to play on the piano?
CL: Oh, I love to invent my own songs. I’m usually too lazy to go and to read the music. I’m too lazy because it takes a lot of time. So I just prefer to get on the piano and basically play whatever comes to my mind.
Courtesy of Ferrari
SI: What is your go-to post race meal if you don’t have any restrictions?
CL: If I don’t have any restrictions ,probably pizza. I love pizza. Or pasta, just simple pasta. I love it without sauce, without anything. Just oil.
SI: What is one question you wish people would ask you, and how would you answer?
CL: Oh, it is difficult because now with the amount of media we get to have at the races, I’m pretty sure I’ve been asked all the possible questions. But probably, if there’s one question that I prefer to the others because it gives credit to the person that has helped me the most is how much my father has been helped me get to where I am now. My father is not here anymore, he passed away some years ago; but he has definitely been a huge part of the reason why I am here today. I mean, we started back when I was three-and-a-half years old. He was basically my mechanic and would take care of me and try to teach me the basics of the sport. And then throughout the ranks, he always tried to make me the best person possible, but also the best driver possible. And these are moments that I will always remember. It is definitely a question I like to answer because it reminds me of very good days.
SI: What is the biggest piece of advice that your father gave you that still sticks with you today?
CL: To stay humble. I think this is the most important thing because things have gone quite quick in my career from 2014 to 2018, which was my first year in Formula 1. I went through the ranks quite quickly, and you go also from someone that is just a private person to a bit more of a public person where people ask for autographs and pictures and it’s very easy to get carried away and change as a person. But my father always told me to not focus on these things too much and to focus on the work in the car, and this has always helped me massively.
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