Charles Leclerc says that since he first took to the grid, he has gone through three different stages as his and F1’s popularity has grown.
The Monaco-born driver made his F1 debut with Alfa Romeo in 2018, joining a year after Liberty Media completed its acquisition of the sport. Leclerc’s popularity quickly snowballed after his promotion to Ferrari just a year later, and the 28-year-old says there was a clear adjustment period in between.
“My life has definitely changed a lot,” Leclerc told RACER. “It’s actually massive.
“I went through three stages. Obviously, in the first stage you’re still a nobody – people don’t really recognize you – and that’s probably my first year in F1. It gives me pause.
“In the second stage, of course, you get more and more stops, and in the beginning it’s fun because you think, ‘Yes, I’ve always dreamed of being an F1 driver, especially at Ferrari. Everywhere I go I get a lot of support and that’s a very special thing to live for.’ And for that I’m grateful to have been, am and forever will be in that position.”
“And the third stage is when you need a little more privacy about some things. But at the end of the day, I’m very lucky to be doing what I love. I have a lot of support everywhere, with the team I always dreamed of driving for.”
“Well, you have a little less privacy. Or you do have privacy, but you have to organize yourself a lot better than you did when you were living a normal life. But there are so many positives to it that it doesn’t matter, and I can’t complain about it.”
Leclerc, who announced his engagement to Alexandra Saint-Mouroux in November, said he had not always shied away from attention to his personal life, instead saying his biggest challenge was ensuring that his performance on the course did not have an overbearing influence on his family and friends.
“Sometimes I would rather just spend some time with my mom and just be normal and live a normal life. But that’s a little harder right now,” he said. “Of course, the engagement news wasn’t all that private as we obviously shared it ourselves! And it’s great for us and those who follow us to be able to share some really positive news.
“Of course,[it’s difficult to separate F1 results and personal life]especially because F1 is such a big part of my life. I mean, I’ve worked…I hate to say ‘work’ because I’ve always loved driving, but I’ve always done that all my life and it means a lot to me.”
“All I have is family, friends, and racing. And when you’re passionate about something, you live in the moment to the fullest. And that definitely means that in some ways that feeling bleeds into my personal life a little bit.”
“If I had a really bad race, I’d go home depressed. And if I had a great race, I’d go home happier. But from experience, I just try to separate the two as much as possible, because at the end of the day, you just reset. After every race, my main goal is to reset. Whether it’s a good race or a bad race, I just reset and start again.”
