10 GIU 2024 · Hello and welcome to the Charles Leclerc Autobiography where we go through the upbringing of one of formula ones brightest stars. The brilliant Mediterranean sun sparkled off the azure waters of the Monaco harbor as a young Charles Leclerc raced his tiny feet along the winding streets. His giggles echoed between the stately buildings as he pretended to be one of the Formula 1 heroes whose photos adorned his bedroom walls. Even from his earliest days, racing was destined to course through his veins. Charles was born in 1997 into a motorsports dynasty in the heart of Monaco. His father, Hervé, was a former Formula 3 driver who had competed throughout Europe in the 1980s and 90s. While Hervé never quite reached the pinnacle of Formula 1, the daring spirit of racing burned brightly within him. It was a passion he eagerly passed down to his only son. From the moment Charles could toddle, Hervé had him behind the wheel of a pedal kart, instilling in the young boy the fundamentals of control, throttle modulation, and racing lines. The two became inseparable, spending countless hours at the go-kart track that sat in the shadow of Monaco's iconic grandstands. To Hervé's great delight, Charles took to racing like a duck to water, showcasing an innate talent from a startlingly young age. As Charles grew from those humble pedal kart sessions, evolving into the highest ranks of karting, Hervé remained his guiding light. The father-son duo traveled the European circuits chasing championships, bonding over their shared obsession. Hervé coached his son's every move, his keen eye spotting the slightest flaws and inefficiencies in Charles' driving. With each outing on the track, the wise tutelage from his doting father sculpted Charles into a more sophisticated and calculated racer. Their partnership extended far beyond the cockpit as well. Whenever they returned home to Monaco's cramped city streets, Hervé filled Charles' mind with racing theory and history, turning their modest apartment into a classroom on wheels. He spun tales of mythic drivers like Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher, legends whose own mastery behind the wheel had been shaped on the very same Monaco roads young Charles roamed. From his father, Charles inherited an obsessive drive to win and an unquenchable thirst for perfection. Hervé demanded his son's total commitment, pushing him to excel academically as well to become a well-rounded competitor. But he tempered those lofty expectations with deep affection, nurturing the bond that allowed Charles to pour his heart into racing without fear of disappointing his greatest supporter. Whenever the pressures of competition weighed too heavily, Charles could find refuge in the unconditional love of his parents. His mother Pascale, while allowing her husband and son to immerse themselves in the all-consuming world of motorsports, provided a soft landing spot with her warmth and care. The Leclerc home simultaneously promoted the highest standards of excellence while offering respite and rejuvenation. As the successes piled up throughout Charles' meteoric karting career, he formed an extended family among the tight-knit racing community as well. One bond solidified by the shared pursuit of speed and adrenaline would become particularly profound. Jules Bianchi was the prodigious French driver who had burst onto the Formula 1 scene just as Charles was making his initial foray into karting near Monaco. Both men hailed from families steeped in racing lore - Jules' own grandfather had been entrenched in the sport for decades. The two quickly developed a kinship, with Jules serving as a larger-than-life idol for young Charles. Watching Bianchi defy the odds by climbing into one of the most coveted seats in racing further stoked the fires of Charles' ambition. If Jules could transcend his modest upbringing to race among the giants, surely Charles could follow that same path if he remained committed. Whenever their schedules allowed, Jules became a fixture in the Leclerc household, indulging his young admirer with tales from the F1 pinnacle and offering insights to accelerate his development. In 2014, the racing world came to a shattering halt. Jules was involved in a horrific crash at the Japanese Grand Prix that left him comatose and clung to life. As the grim updates filtered back to Monaco, Hervé gathered his teenage son, trying to make sense of the unthinkable tragedy. In that crucible of grief, the father and son's bond only intensified as they sought solace in each other's embrace. For months, Charles and his family anxiously hoped and prayed for Jules' recovery alongside his loved ones. But the devastating news arrived in 2015 that the charismatic young man who had seemed destined for greatness had succumbed to his injuries at just 25 years old. Charles was utterly shattered, faced with the cruelest realities of the sport he had idolized through his godfather's exploits. In the aftermath, Hervé counseled his son to honor Jules' memory by doubling his efforts to forge the path his godfather had tragically been unable to complete. The two rededicated themselves with feverish intensity as Charles ascended through Formula 4, Formula 3, and Formula 2. Each rung of the developmental ladder only burnished his precocious talents and strengthened his unshakable self-belief. At the age of 19, the proudest moment of Hervé's life unfolded as he tearfully embraced Charles after his son captured the FIA Formula 2 championship, finally achieving the dream they had manifested together from the pedal karts of Monaco. For the father whose own driving ambitions had fallen short of the top level, this meant more than any trophy. He had helped mold the newest, brightest star of a new generation. When Charles made his Formula 1 debut for Sauber in 2018, proudly carrying Jules Bianchi's holegated initials on his racing suit, the fabled careers of Senna and Schumacher that Hervé had rhapsodized about began to feel within reach. With his father's tactical genius and unwavering support buttressing him, combined with the inspiration of Jules' incredible life story, Charles attacked the pinnacle of racing with the confidence of a anointed heir. Over the ensuing years, the fresh-faced driver quickly turned from promising upstart to bonafide Ferrari star. With each passing season behind the wheel of the sport's most legendary constructor, Charles continued to honor the two figures who had shaped him - the doting father whose wisdom and guidance had meticulously prepared him for this very moment, and the late godfather whose transcendent skills manifested in the protege he never had the chance to mentor. Each podium celebration, each hard-fought victory, every time Charles ascended that top step wearing the crimson red of the Prancing Horse, it commemorated the sacrifices of his two greatest inspirations. In those fleeting moments of triumph, with the roars of the crowd reverberating around him, Charles could feel the pride radiating from his father just as palpably as in their earliest days chasing checkered flags together in a Monaco go-kart park. And somewhere amid the din of Formula 1's greatest cathedrals, Charles likes to believe he can hear the approving roar of Jules Bianchi too, willing on the man who had so embodied the dreams of the godfather whose future had been so brutally cut short. When he looks back on the path that carried him to the summit, it is forevermore intertwined with the bonds, the anguish, and the unbreakable love that defined his inimitable support system.