With the start of the 2023 season only weeks away, Charles Leclerc will be looking to win his first Formula 1 championship with Ferrari, having looked like the early favourite last season.
Ferrari came flying out of the blocks with a one-two finish at the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix but strategic errors and an unreliable power unit eventually cost Leclerc a shot at championship glory.
As one of the most talented drivers on the grid, it seems only a matter of time until Leclerc tastes championship glory and with Ferrari expected to improve this year, it could be this season that Leclerc finally wins a title.
Having overcome a lot of physical and emotional hurdles in his early racing career, Leclerc will certainly not be deterred by last year’s failures and heartbreaks.
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The Monegasque driver has now opened up on when he experienced the biggest personal tragedy imaginable, the loss of his father.
Hervé Leclerc passed away in June 2017 after a long battle with illness, while his son was in the middle of an intense but successful Formula 2 season.
“My father way mu number one fan. He wanted me to be strong in every race,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport.
Leclerc took part in a Formula 2 race in Baku only days after his father’s death, with the 25-year-old explaining that his father would not have wanted it any other way.
“I was sure he wanted me to be there and win for him, even if it was the worst way to prepare for a GP,” he said.
“There’s nothing that can prepare you for the moment you lose your father. I have become more mature because the loss of him has made me more responsible, growing as a man.
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“Mentally I became stronger than ever. Losing your father so early in life is something that changes you forever.”
Leclerc bravely stormed to victory in Baku following his father’s death, doing him proud and massively helping his charge for the Formula 2 title.
Only months after his decision to race, Leclerc’s bravery paid off as he was then signed by Sauber to make the jump to F1, where he is now battling at the very top.