Charles Leclerc admits that the final moments leading up to a race start are still the hardest for an F1 driver. Unlike other athletes, who can isolate themselves or be shielded just before they have to perform, Leclerc is constantly in the spotlight. Even in his eighth year in the top class, the Monegasque acknowledges that this remains one of the toughest aspects of the sport.
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“Entering the starting grid, I think that is one of the hardest things in our sport,” Leclerc revealed in an interview for the BSMT podcast. “We do two or three laps to get to the grid, then we stop and get out of the car. From that moment we have about twenty minutes to talk with the engineers, do the final briefing and prepare before getting back in. In those minutes on the grid there are thousands of people, including sponsors and fans asking for photos and wanting to chat.”
Bubble
“At the same time I get all the information I need for the race,” Leclerc explained. “So it’s essential to stay in my own bubble, and that is ultimately the hardest.” He explained that in his junior career he was completely unprepared for this attention. “I had to completely change my approach when I moved from Formula 2 to Formula 1,” he added. “In Formula 2 no one knows you; you work your whole career relatively under the radar, you get in the car and that was it.”
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“Then you end up in Formula 1 and suddenly there are hundreds of thousands of people around you,” Leclerc continued. “That was very difficult in the first races, but luckily I got used to it quickly. Still, it remains very difficult,” he admitted. The eight-time Grand Prix winner tries to prepare mentally with a fixed routine before a race. “Half an hour before I get in the car, I basically always follow the same routine: I take a cold shower, do a warm-up, and so on. By repeating that, I can ‘reset’ myself and get into the right mindset.”
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