Leclerc: Always give your best and never give up!

In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc spoke about past, present and future…

Q: As a driver and team leader, what can Charles Leclerc do to help Ferrari through this difficult time?
Charles Leclerc: Do your best and never give up. These are fundamental concepts. We need to help engineers understand the weaknesses of the machine so they can work on it.

In a situation like this it is easy to lose motivation, although this is not the case with us, but I have to be willing to motivate people when this happens. How? Making maximum effort on the track, showing resilience and courage.

Q: What points in the Frederic Vasseur program can help bring the team back to the top?
Charles Leclerc: He has a plan to strengthen the team by recruiting new people. It is important to listen to different points of view, people from different backgrounds, to assess the problems and the changes that are needed. Our goal is to build a machine that is competitive in all conditions.

Now our car is good in qualifying, one fast lap, with fresh tires and with the weather we expect. But as soon as circumstances change, we give way to Red Bull. Compared to us, their car is fast in qualifying, in the race, in the rain – in all conditions.

Q: Does Ferrari president John Elkann support the team?
Charles Leclerc: We have always communicated a lot with him, both in difficult and successful times. We always have support from him.

Q: Do you and Carlos Sainz have the same opinion on the car’s problems, on how to develop it so that it gets better in 2024?
Charles LeclercA: Yes, and this is very important. We have different requirements for the balance of the car, but in terms of issues, the comments are similar.

Q: Do you miss last year’s battles with Verstappen, in which you sometimes won?
Charles Leclerc: I miss fighting for the win, and with Max I will fight, or with anyone else, it doesn’t matter. I don’t care about second, third or fourth place. I will do my best to get back to the top step of the podium with Ferrari as soon as possible.

Q: The key to Red Bull’s success – Adrian Newey?
Charles LeclercA: I believe that the success of the team cannot depend on one person. Many who are good at their jobs contribute.

Q: Are you ready to race until age 40 like Fernando Alonso?
Charles Leclerc: Do not know. Much depends on the results. If Ferrari and I win for ten years, I can compete for up to sixty years (laughs). In fact, a lot depends on how my life will develop outside of racing.

I don’t intend to end my career. I love racing and I understand how lucky I am to be able to do it. I can stop racing until 42, Fernando’s current age, but I still have a few seasons ahead of me.

Q: Did you communicate with Sebastian Vettel after he stopped racing?
Charles Leclerc: He wrote me that he listened to my music and that he liked it. Thanks for the warm feedback. Other than that we didn’t talk.

Q: What was it like meeting Brad Pitt? Will you star in a future Formula 1 movie?
Charles Leclerc: I haven’t heard about this, but it was nice meeting you. We drove around the track in Austin together, he seemed excited about preparing ideas for the movie. I think it will be the most realistic Formula 1 movie ever.

Q: What are your favorite actors…
Charles Leclerc: (after a pause) There are many. But as a child I loved Harry Potter, I always liked Daniel Radcliffe as a magician, he made a whole generation of children dream. So I’ll give it a name.

Q: What about athletes from other disciplines?
Charles Leclerc: I love Rafael Nadal for what he has achieved in tennis and for the fact that he has remained a simple man. Besides him, I am friends with Fabio Quartararo and Valentino Rossi.

Q: Who do you like from the artists?
Charles Leclerc: When it comes to music, I admire Ludovico Einaudi and Hans Zimmer. In painting, I like the paintings of Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Question: Will you continue to compose music?
Charles Leclerc: Home alone in Monaco. Three days ago I sat down at the piano and came up with something I liked. This is how my music is created. I can read music, but I do it very slowly, so I don’t like it. Usually I improvise. I practice for two or three hours straight, play whatever comes to my mind, and when I’m satisfied with the result, I post it on online platforms.

Q: Have you ever wanted to record a duet with a famous artist?
Charles Leclerc: My music is melancholy. Maybe with one of the pianists. Such proposals already exist.

Question This year Ferrari will return to Le Mans to fight for victory. Do you want to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans or the Indianapolis 500?
Charles Leclerc: More Le Mans than Indianapolis. I loved the aesthetics of prototypes since I was a kid, and now Ferrari has one. I hope this idea becomes a reality one day.

Q: Would you like to race in the era of Enzo Ferrari, Gilles Villeneuve or Ayrton Senna?
Charles Leclerc: I’d like to have. Then it was only important what happens on the track, without politics. The Formula 1 paddock was like when I started karting: you put on a helmet and just raced. In addition, it would be great to get acquainted with such legends.

Q: Could you drive the cars of those years?
Charles Leclerc: Now you have to learn a lot to get behind the wheel, and then reflexes were very important, and that suits me very well.

Q: Michael Schumacher waited five years to become champion at Ferrari. How long are you willing to wait?
Charles Leclerc: I believe we will win in the end. I know Frederic Vasseur’s medium and long-term plans and fully support him.

Now it is difficult to say how long it will last – in Formula 1 everything changes quickly, which happened to us in the 2022-2023 off-season. It could happen next year or in two years, it depends on the progress of the opponents, but I have no doubt that we will succeed in the end. I want to win with Ferrari and I hope it happens as soon as possible.