Charles Leclerc Breaks His Silence on Online Judgment
In a Nutshell
Charles Leclerc reveals that losing his father in 2017 forced him to mature rapidly and take responsibility for his family and career logistics, shaping his approach to handling pressure and criticism. He transformed his harsh self-criticism into a learning tool, stopped monitoring social media feedback after his first F1 year, and now values only opinions from those closest to him. His father's enduring advice to "always stay humble and grateful" remains his core philosophy for managing both success and setbacks in Formula 1.
These notes were generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies.
Charles Leclerc began driving at three and a half years old after faking illness to skip school. His father took him to a go-karting facility owned by Philip Bianchi, father of Jules Bianchi. There was a go-kart specifically made for Jules when he was the same age. Leclerc's first lap involved a rope attached to his kart with an adult driving ahead for safety. After the first lap, the rope was removed and he continued until the fuel ran out. He described the experience as immediately giving him an amazing feeling of being in control and the adrenaline rush. He cannot remember the day itself due to his age but has photos from his father that help recapture the feeling.
The demands of racing evolved significantly throughout Leclerc's career. In karting, tracks were close to home, making daily travel manageable despite long days on track. Moving to single-seaters (Formula 4, 3, and 2) required more European travel but only involved 12-13 races annually. Formula 1 presented the biggest challenge with 24 races worldwide plus extensive simulator work in Maranello, sponsorship events, and preparation activities. Leclerc struggled in his first Formula 1 year, arriving exhausted the day before practice and struggling to maintain peak performance by season's end. With experience and support from a dedicated team handling logistics, he learned to plan better and maintain quality of life through training, diet, and sleep management across different time zones.
Leclerc identifies sleep as his number one priority, typically getting 10-11 hours nightly as a naturally good sleeper, though he struggles to sleep on planes. He works with a dietician in Milan who creates varied meal plans focused on carbohydrates, particularly before race days. His weight fluctuates significantly during race weekends due to high carbohydrate intake and hydration before practice, followed by extreme fluid loss in the cockpit—sometimes up to 3.5-4 kilograms of water in hot conditions. Recovery from this dehydration takes one to two days. The physical demands include training neck muscles, which are difficult to replicate in a gym as they involve small muscles not used in other sports. Drivers experience extreme neck fatigue after the first practice day following winter break. Cardio training and breathing techniques for managing G-forces are also essential components.
Leclerc acknowledges his younger self was extremely harsh on himself, which he now considers both a strength and a challenge. The key difference is his reaction to mistakes—transforming them into learning opportunities rather than allowing them to damage self-confidence. During races, adrenaline prevents overthinking, requiring mental resets at each corner within one second. Post-race analysis is where self-criticism becomes problematic, potentially affecting performance for one to two weeks until the next race. He maintains motivation by remembering his childhood dreams of becoming a Ferrari Formula 1 driver and his love for driving, which helps him stay grateful regardless of circumstances.
Despite his fearlessness on track, Leclerc has personal fears including an intense dislike of snakes and an inability to complete bungee jumping despite successfully skydiving. He attributes his track fearlessness to being in control, which helps manage any potential anxiety about the inherent dangers of racing.
Leclerc lost his father in 2017 when he was racing in Formula 2. His father had been his primary mentor, having raced himself and providing crucial guidance. The loss forced Leclerc to mature rapidly, taking responsibility for logistics, flights, and planning that his father previously managed. He also became responsible for his younger brother and mother. The tragedy ultimately brought the family closer together. On the Tuesday of the Baku race weekend when his father passed, Leclerc decided to race because he knew his father would want him to continue, using the motivation to make his father proud from above.
Leclerc's father was known for his honesty—being harsh when mistakes occurred but incredibly happy during victories. He attended every race but maintained a step-back approach, allowing Leclerc to develop independently with his engineers and mechanics, then providing feedback at weekend's end. His most enduring advice was to "always stay humble and grateful," particularly important during successful periods when young drivers might become overconfident. Leclerc applies this by maintaining work ethic during good stretches, recognizing that competitors are also improving, and focusing on gratitude during difficult periods when criticism intensifies.
The criticism that hurts Leclerc most involves mischaracterizations of his personality, such as being called arrogant when he knows this isn't true. He learned to stop monitoring all social media feedback after his first Formula 1 year, instead valuing only opinions from people he loves most. He uses social media to reflect his authentic self, accepting that not everyone will like his true personality. The transition from Formula 2, where only family commented on mistakes, to Formula 1, where thousands discuss every error publicly, required significant adjustment.
When seeing someone loved doing exactly the same thing, priorities shift dramatically. Performance remains important, but the most critical concern becomes security and safety to the end of the race. Everything else becomes secondary. Racing becomes less enjoyable to watch when a brother is competing because it creates intense stress and fear.
Every single race is a torture. Watching becomes difficult because meetings preparing for one race often occur at the same time as another race. The need to watch while maintaining focus on meetings represents the hardest task. Fastest speeds reach approximately 370 kph, around 230 mph. However, straight line speed is not the impressive part of Formula 1. The braking and speed in corners is crazy and very difficult to put into words.
Formula 1 differs significantly from other sports. Only three days are available in the Formula 1 car over the year before the first race. This limited practice represents the only opportunity to understand the behavior of the new car. All other preparation occurs virtually through simulators using the wheel rather than a controller.
Simulators prepare drivers for the real thing. Three days must get drivers up to speed and help understand tons of information from the car, which is mostly the engineers' responsibility. Drivers need to be ready for the first qualifying session a week later. This process is very very very difficult.
The dangerous nature of the sport became personal with the loss of sporting godfather Jbiani in 2014, who had a fatal crash in Japan. Another friend, Antoan, was lost in 2019 in Belgium. These moments create negative thoughts when racing on the exact same track and going through the exact same corner where someone close lost their life. These represent the two moments requiring battle through negative thoughts to focus on something else.
A part of the mind resists getting on with racing as if nothing happened. However, focus must shift completely to driving once inside the car until getting out. Full concentration on driving is necessary to extract maximum performance from the car.
Rush is loved as a movie for its representation of the sport in earlier eras. The sport has evolved dramatically since then. While getting into the car now involves no thoughts about danger, 30-40 years ago the situation was completely different. The driver willing to get closest to death was often the fastest because they were so brave. Cars had no safety features, with legs exposed and only minimal metal protection. Taking a wall meant the end.
The Nikila car was driven and proved very special, though a problem occurred with the brakes during the drive. Driving was completely different, requiring manual clutch pressing with each gear change like a normal car. Modern Formula 1 cars use electronic systems where gears are changed by pressing a button without clutch operation. This allows the brain to focus on many other things. The steering wheel contains hundred thousands of things that need touching while driving, removing the need to think about gears.
Music serves as recovery, particularly playing piano. Videos demonstrate piano skills. Playing piano allows disconnection from Formula 1 pressure and the sport as a whole. Piano playing began during COVID when staying home with a simulator became tiring after two weeks to two and a half weeks. A piano was purchased and learning began.
Piano lessons were taken as a child when a younger brother had access to one, though no formal courses were pursued. During COVID, five or six lessons were taken but it became clear that structured lessons were not suitable. Self-teaching began, creating melodies and music that felt enjoyable. Time spent on piano often extends from an intended hour to four or five hours.
Approximately 30-40 days per year are available for family, friends, and personal time. Two weeks to two and a half weeks occur in August, plus another two weeks to two and a half weeks in December for Christmas. Travel to consistent locations worldwide allows meeting new people and developing friend groups in cities like Brazil, Los Angeles, and Miami.
Private life does not suffer significantly from the racing schedule. Following races became easier for family members as an adult compared to childhood, when leaving school for two or three weeks for races reduced time with home friends. Language barriers existed as a child, not speaking Italian or English, making communication difficult at carting tracks. However, the happiness of going to the racetrack to drive karting compensated for these difficulties.
Being the best version of oneself is a constant goal. Ayrton Senna represents the best driver of all time, though never witnessed in real life due to being too young. Learning occurred through movies and books. Senna was also the idol of the father. The precision Senna demonstrated, especially in Monaco during a more dangerous era, was remarkable. Onboard camera footage of Senna's qualifying laps around Monaco is considered crazy.
The simulator is located in Marinelo in a room five or six times bigger than a standard room. It features a huge moving platform attempting to reproduce G-forces. Three days occur in the real car, with everything else done on the simulator throughout the year.
The simulator reproduces extremely close to the real car feeling. What it cannot provide is adrenaline, as crashes simply require pressing restart. G-forces represent another limitation because the platform only moves from right to left before stopping, whereas in a Formula 1 car, G-forces persist throughout the entire turn. Precision on a stable platform differs completely from precision in a Formula 1 car with vibrations and continuous G-forces.
The father passed away a year before entry into Formula 1. Two days before his passing, a lie was told that the Formula 1 contract had been signed, though confidence existed that this would happen. The mother became angry about the lie. A month later, the actual contract was signed. Peace was found by realizing the truth had been anticipated rather than fabricated. The father would be extremely proud of the current achievements despite struggles with car performance, as driving for Ferrari in Formula 1 represents significant success.
The father made many sacrifices because motorsport is very expensive. Savings were necessary to enable driving. Time with the mother was limited because the father was always present at races. For the driver, racing represented pure pleasure rather than sacrifice, despite reduced time at home as a child.
Pierre Gasly represents a really good friend on the grid. They grew up together, starting karting and doing their first race together in 2005 at seven or eight years old. They competed in the French championship together and their families became close, going on holidays together. As soon as the visor closes, competition takes over completely. Outside the car, strong friendship remains. Creating new friendships within Formula 1 proves very difficult because everyone seeks competitive advantage.
Formula 1 is not a lonely sport because it represents a team sport. The team works in the background, with mechanics ensuring perfect assembly, engineers optimizing the car, and strategy discussions occurring during races. Many people in the background remain connected through radio communication during driving.
The feeling of victory proves incredible because it represents doing the best on track, depending on many other people doing the right thing. Victory brings incredible joy not only personally but for more than 1,500 people working at the factory in Marinelo. The taste of victory motivates daily, even on difficult training days, through the vision of winning a world championship.
If becoming world champion, the message would be "well done" and to remember all difficult moments when success seemed impossible. These moments of doubt about reaching Formula 1 or becoming world champion should be remembered. The same message applies to the younger self who wondered why they would be chosen among only 20 drivers in the world. Hard work and motivation make anything possible.
Working with younger drivers and those coming up through the ranks is loved. A recent karting race visit occurred three or four months ago to watch a younger cousin starting karting. Kids surrounded with eyes full of joy and admiration, creating a return to childhood feelings when Formula 1 drivers seemed like gods. The smallest gesture from a Formula 1 driver can change a child's life for months. Meeting Michael Schumacher at six or seven years old remains a vivid memory.
Clear vision helped since a very young age. From age five, every track visit combined love for the activity with the desire to be the best. Learning something new and taking steps forward in driving and karting understanding occurred each evening. Realistic goals were set in one or two month increments rather than 10-15 year timelines. Small steps consistently moved in the right direction, achieving small goals to reach bigger objectives like becoming a Formula 1 driver and eventually driving for Ferrari.
Cold baths begin and end race days. This practice benefits the body, especially given extremely high cockpit temperatures. Pre-race cold baths prepare the body, while post-race cold baths aid recovery.
Formula 1 revealed being much stronger than initially thought. Entry into Formula 1 occurred while still a kid, joining a team of 1,500 people with media attention and significant pressure. Questions arose about readiness for the challenge, having previously done karting alone with the father.
Charles Leclerc reflects on his journey from karting with his father as a mechanic to competing in Formula 1. He notes the dramatic increase in scale, with 1,500 people now working to optimize his car, accompanied by significant media attention and pressure. Leclerc acknowledges that this environment has revealed strengths he initially underestimated, stating "I am stronger than what I initially thought."
The interviewer offers Leclerc the opportunity to share anything additional on his mind that hadn't been addressed. Leclerc responds that the conversation has been comprehensive and that everything important has been covered. The interviewer expresses appreciation for the interview and highlights the words grateful and humble as the most memorable from their discussion, noting that these qualities reflect how Leclerc's family raised him.
The interviewer observes that Leclerc maintains a genuine, childlike love for racing despite the pressures of the sport. They note how rare this quality is, acknowledging that while people naturally become tired, jaded, or stressed, Leclerc has preserved his authentic passion. The interviewer credits this to Leclerc's parents and family, to which Leclerc responds with gratitude.
The interview concludes with mutual thanks between Leclerc and the interviewer. The segment ends with a standard call-to-action encouraging viewers to subscribe to the channel for more conversations.
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