Charles Leclercs models his Gilles Villeneuve tribute helmet — Photo: © LAT Images

Ferrari

Charles Leclerc reveals STUNNING F1 legend tribute helmet

The nod to Gilles Villeneuve is beautiful by the current Ferrari driver as he released an awesome helmet

Jack Walker

Saturday 17 June 2023 15:57

Charles Leclerc is donning a unique helmet throughout this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix.

The Monegasque driver has made a disappointing start to the season, and may be looking for inspiration from a Formula 1 legend.

A blast from the past

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Gilles Villeneuve is an F1, Ferrari and Canadian legend – so much so the national track in Montreal is named after him – and Leclerc is paying a touching tribute.

Leclerc matched Villeneuve’s best finish in an F1 season by securing a second-place finish in the drivers’ standings with P2 in Abu Dhabi last year, but there has never been a better time for a little nod to the past.

The Scuderia driver revealed all in an Instagram reel earlier on Friday, in which he says:

“Gilles Villeneuve was such an incredible driver, so much passion he had for Ferrari which you could see when he was going out on track.

“This is my special helmet for the weekend. It is inspired by the design that Gilles used to have.”

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A post shared by Charles Leclerc (@charles_leclerc)

The finer details

Unsurprisingly, Ferrari red and black dominate the Monegasque's special lid, with white incorporated into his driver number as usual. Here it is up close:

A change in fortunes for Ferrari?

Villeneuve won six races in his F1 career; how Ferrari would love to emulate the Canadian’s pace and presence on track as we go deeper into the 2023 season. Team Principal, Fred Vasseur, has said that developments will be made to the SF-23, but not until later in the year.

This, however, has not stopped him from backing his team to perform stronger this weekend.

TuttoSport reported that he said: “All of us are aware that we need to improve the race performance of our car.

“We have confirmed the updates introduced in Spain, allowing Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc to be able to count on a more consistent car in performance on Sundays.”