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Charles Leclerc Pays Heartfelt Tribute to Jules Bianchi, 3 Years After Hailing Him a Better Match for Ferrari

Published 08/04/2023, 4:50 AM EDT

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Everyone is aware of the value the Ferrari seat has been for Charles Leclerc. Since he was a young child, the Monaco driver has only dreamed of driving for Ferrari. He has often shown his faith in the team, even when it has frequently faltered. Still, the 25-year-old is highly upbeat about the team and wants to compete for a championship while donning a Ferrari suit. However, despite his ardent devotion to Ferrari, the man still feels that someone else is “more deserving” of Scuderia’s seat than he is. Jules Bianchi, a promising talent who passed away too young, is the man to whom Leclerc dedicated this humble message. And three years after making this comment, the Monegasque expressed yet another sincere gratitude for the emerging star.

Jules Bianchi’s tragic accident at the Japanese Grand Prix in 2014 stunned the Formula 1 community. Just eight months after the incident, the F1 community saw a budding star lose the fight for life and succumb to his injuries on July 17, 2015, a testament to the accident’s extreme savagery. Since the Marussia driver was a mentor and godfather to the young Charles Leclerc at the time, the Monegasque was very close to him and the accident caused the young Leclerc to have a traumatic experience.

The fact that the 25-year-old was an eyewitness to Jules Bianchi’s incredible driving skills in a car that was much less competitive made him believe that he “[Bianchi] deserved the F1 seat, the Ferrari seat, probably even more than I did,” as per his statement after he has been with the Ferrari for a year. Though fate had other plans for Leclerc, the Ferrari driver still misses his friend. The Monegasque recently displayed his intense emotions on social media while paying an emotional tribute to the late star on the occasion of his eighth death anniversary.

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Now again, conveyed his love and appreciation for the rising star by uploading a photo of him on his Instagram story after F1 posted it. Leclerc Posted the picture with three red hearts as a caption on it.

Although Leclerc has stated that Bianchi was a fantastic driver, the Monegasque has continued this idea by drawing an analogy between his and Bianchi’s careers during his conversation with Race back in 2020.

Charles Leclerc describes an intriguing connection to Godfather Jules Bianchi

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If the younger generations haven’t watched the French driver’s drive in the Monaco Grand Prix, then they are undoubtedly missing a hell of a drive. The Montreal circuit, which remains a testament to Bianchi’s exceptional talent, continues to haunt the Monegasque, who appears to be cursed as he hasn’t been on the podium since making his debut. While this remains a comparison between the two, Leclerc was keen on elaborating on the similarity between him and his idol.

via Reuters

Leclerc recounted a story while summarizing each of their careers. Leclerc and Bianchi have an intriguing similarity given that both drivers competed in Renault before going to F3 and then F1. In his words, while talking about race, Leclerc said, “Our fathers always joked that we had a very similar career.” After a while, by stating an intriguing similarity, the Ferrari driver added, “Strangely, when he was racing and I was racing, if he had a very bad race that weekend the same weekend I would have a very bad race too.”

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WATCH THIS STORY: Charles Leclerc Hilariously Not Identified After his Famous Monza Win

Jules Bianchi has undoubtedly had the greatest influence on Leclerc. And given the Monegasque is making great strides in his pursuit of a championship, the entire F1 paddock is aware of who it might be dedicated to.

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Written by:

Aditya Srivastava

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Aditya Srivastava is an F1 writer at EssentiallySports with over two years of writing experience. He developed a keen interest in the sport after the unforgettable Abu Dhabi 2021 race. As a graduate of a premier institute, Aditya is committed to producing high-quality content that is engaging, informative, and accurate.
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Edited by:

Varunkumaar Chelladurai