F1 Talk: Leclerc’s Maiden F1 Win Shows his Mental Strength

Charles Leclerc has had to deal with more than his fair share of personal adversity for a man of just 21 years of age as his godbrother Jules Bianchi tragically passed away following the 2014 Japanese GP, his father Herve Leclerc died in the days prior to the second 2017 Formula 2 round in Baku and now this weekend he lost one of his closest childhood friends, Anthoine Hubert.

Though despite the enormity of the loss, just like in Azerbaijan, Leclerc did the talking on track and put together an unbelievably clean race to secure his first Grand Prix victory around the Spa Francorchamps circuit where his friend lost his life not even twenty-four hours previously.

Leclerc has been plagued with tragedy throughout his life which has only helped the young Monegasque to mature faster in his racing and as a person. But to win his maiden Formula 1 race on a track where his close friend Anthoine lost his life hours before took immense mental strength. Every time he made his way through Raidillon corner, he knew that was where his close friend paid the ultimate price.

However, the 21-year old Ferrari driver barely made a single mistake all race-long and was able to manage his tyres better than he had at previous races to beat the might of Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton around a favoured venue for the British World Champion.

After the race, Leclerc spoke from his heart and said:

“This one is for Anthoine. It feels good but it is difficult to enjoy a weekend like this. I have lost a friend, so I would like to dedicate my win to him. We have grown up together. It is a shame what happened yesterday, so I cannot enjoy my first victory.”

But the Monegasque driver’s first Formula 1 victory seems very fitting as just like the way he dominated the Baku weekend in Formula 2, he was brilliant throughout the entire race and following disappointments at Bahrain and Austria, it seemed as if that extra energy helped him secure his maiden F1 win.

While he only just beat Hamilton by 0.9 s, this was Leclerc’s best race of the season – building a lead from the get-go, managed his tyres in both stints to the best of his ability and didn’t crack under the pressure from the Mercedes driver in the closing stages of the race.

Although, this was also a win for Ferrari as the scuderia sacrificed Sebastian Vettel’s race to secure the win for Leclerc. After his lock-up at La Source at the restart, the German was never able to match his team-mate’s times, so Ferrari decided to cover a potential undercut from Mercedes by pitting Vettel on lap 16 which saw the German inherit the net race-lead and allowed him to block Hamilton for a couple of crucial laps to allow Leclerc to build his lead out-front on his way to his first Formula 1 victory.

Elsewhere, Alexander Albon finished fifth in his debut race for Red Bull. The Thai driver started at the back due to penalties, making an alternative strategy work for him as he scythed through the field in the closing laps. He would have only jumped as high as sixth though had it not been for a last lap retirement from Lando Norris. The McLaren car proved unreliable for both drivers, but while Sainz had struggled since lap 1, the pain was far worse for Norris, who impressed many by breaking away from the midfield during his quiet race.

But on a weekend where a racing driver lost their life on a Grand Prix weekend for the first time since Jules Bianchi died at the 2014 Japanese GP, it is only fitting that one of Anthoine’s closest friends secured a life-long ambition by winning his maiden F1 race. Now for a man who has endured so much heartache, let’s hope he can enjoy future success in F1 without such emotional pain in the future.

RIP Anthoine.