Michael Schumacher has a special place in Formula 1. He has a special place in Ferrari. And he has a special place in every Ferrari fan’s heart. When people think of Ferrari, they think of all the glory the team has achieved over the years. And a monumental aspect of this glory was Schumacher. 12 years after he departed from the Scuderia in 2007, a young gun touted for Schumacher-like greatness joined the team, looking to carry on the legacy of the seven-time world champion. Who was it? Charles Leclerc.

When the Monegasque joined Ferrari in 2019, the Tifosi welcomed him with open arms, and everyone said he had champion potential. While there’s no doubt about that, Ferrari hasn’t been as strong in the past few years as it used to be back in the day. And the team hasn’t been able to give Leclerc the machinery he needs to win the title. But it made amends in the past year, building a car in 2022 that was back competing at the front of the grid. But Red Bull proved too dominant and ran away with both championships. And this year, while Red Bull is still as dominant, if not more, Ferrari looks to have found the momentum it has been missing for a while.

Two generations of Ferrari’s pride: Michael Schumacher & Charles Leclerc

Coming into the Austrian GP off the back of a good result in Canada, the Maranello outfit brought upgrades to the car. The Red Bull Ring, with its long straights and high-speed corners, is suited to Red Bull’s make, which already gave it an advantage. But Ferrari’s upgrades made the car more competitive than expected, and Leclerc missed out on pole position just by 48 milliseconds. With things finally looking up for the team, Leclerc couldn’t hold back his happiness, even though he was slightly disappointed with P2. 

In an interview broadcast on Sky Italy after qualifying, Leclerc’s frame had a picture of Michael Schumacher in the background. When the commentator noticed it, they said, “This frame with Michael behind Charles. I just noticed it. I think it’s a beautiful one.” While it was merely a coincidence, people couldn’t stop making the connection between the two. Schumacher brought Ferrari glory during his time in F1. And in this new generation, Leclerc has been touted to bring back the Scuderia to its glory days.

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It wasn’t just the commentator who found the framing beautiful. It was practically the entire Tifosi, and they took to Twitter to express their emotions.

“This is Ferrari”: Sky Sports made the Tifosi nostalgic and hopeful

For a long time, Schumacher was the face of Ferrari. But in this new generation of F1, Charles Leclerc has taken over the baton and is doing his best to guide his team back to glory. And after his qualifying performance in Austria, Ferrari, and Charles fans are more hopeful than ever. If anything, looking at the frame of Michael and Charles only strengthened their belief that Leclerc is the man for the job.

One fan expressed how, if someone asked them what Ferrari was, they’d show them this frame of the two. For Ferrari fans, the framing is like a belief that the legacy of Schumacher lives on through Leclerc.

Another fan just wrote “Spirit💖🥹,” implying almost the same thing—Michael’s F1 and Ferrari spirit have been transferred onto Charles.

Many fans couldn’t handle the implied (although accidental) meaning behind the framing and expressed how happy looking at it made them that they cried.

Another fan called it beautiful, which it indeed was, considering the meaning behind it.

Do you believe Schumacher’s Ferrari spirit lives on through Leclerc? Will he be able to channel the seven-time champion’s winner mentality and help Ferrari return to the front?

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