Ferrari F1 star Charles Leclerc reveals LIE that kickstarted racing career

Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Belgium, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

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Ferrari star reveals LIE that kickstarted F1 career

Charles Leclerc has opened up on how he discovered a passion for F1

Kevin McKenna

Tuesday 13 August 2024 10:57

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One of Ferrari's star drivers has opened up on how a schoolboy lie kickstarted his journey to Formula 1.

With the 2024 season midway through its summer break, drivers up and down the grid are enjoying the last few days of relaxation before the action gets under way again at next weekend's Dutch Grand Prix.

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Ferrari pair Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc will be targeting an improvement in performance after experiencing a frustrating first section of the campaign.

Though both have tasted victory in Australia and Monaco respectively this year, they have struggled to find consistency, with McLaren emerging as the main challengers to Red Bull's constructors' title.

Early season hopes for the pair to be in the mix for the drivers' championship also appear to have been extinguished, with Max Verstappen and Lando Norris set to battle it out over the remaining 10 races.

It's been a frustrating campaign for Ferrari pair Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc

Leclerc's last victory came on his home circuit at the Monaco Grand Prix

Leclerc pinpoints start of F1 dream

Given Sainz's impending switch to Williams in 2025 and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton gearing up to take his place, Ferrari will be targeting a strong finish to the year ahead of what could be an exciting new era for the team.

With the future looking bright for the Italian giants, Leclerc has been reflecting on his past, and confessed how a lie told to his father proved to be the spark which ignited his F1 dream.

Speaking to The Gentleman's Journal, the Monaco-born racer said: “I lied to my father that I fainted. I told him I was ill, but that wasn’t true, I just didn’t want to go to school and he believed me, so he had to keep me with him.

Leclerc will team up with Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari in 2025

“By coincidence, he had to go to see his best friend, Philippe Bianchi (father of Jules Bianchi, who tragically lost his life in 2014), who was managing a karting track at the time, an hour and a half outside Monaco and I went with him.”

When Leclerc arrived at the track, he discovered a kart that had already been set up for a similar-aged child, and so decided to try it out.

“From that moment onwards, that’s it, it was clear I wanted to do that,” he said.