Charles Leclerc recollects when he drove for 5 hours straight from 3 AM to 8 AM in a karting race because he did not want to lose the lead.
Charles Leclerc and Jules Bianchi were an inseparable duo during their karting days. The two used to race frequently on the Brignoles track.
Charles has a lot of fond memories attached to Brignoles. And one of them was when he drove with his elder brother Lorenzo, Jules and Norman Nato in a 24 hour karting race.
At 3 AM, Charles was handed the wheel by Jules and was asked to drive for 1 hour. His teammates wanted to go out and party and requested Charles to carry on instead and keep the lead.
Story of how Jules left @Charles_Leclerc karting for FIVE HOURS 
“Jules said Charles, you do this session for one hour we will go and have a party and come back in one hour… they eventually came back after 5 hours to save me from the dying inside of the kart.” #JB17 #CL16 pic.twitter.com/CrjMZSmqiW
— Out of Context Jules Bianchi (@julesbianchii17) August 14, 2020
But 1 hour flew by, and nobody came. They were nowhere to be seen until 8 in the morning. And for 5 straight hours, Charles was busy driving and maintained the lead by a mile.
He exclaimed, “I didn’t want to stop because I didn’t want to lose!” He adds, “I was driving for 5 straight hours and was completely dead.” And eventually, they came and saved poor Leclerc.
So read: Jules Bianchi foresaw what Ferrari superstar is capable of long ago
Charles Leclerc misses his karting days
Ferrari F1 driver Charles Leclerc had only dreamed of achieving what he does now every weekend. The Monegasque was always determined to be an F1 racer and worked hard to get here.
He started his road to F1 at age 6 when he started karting under the watchful eyes of his father Herve Leclerc. Herve was a former racer himself and instilled the liking for racing in young Charles.
Herve used to take Charles to the Brignoles Karting track in the South of France, near Monaco. And this is a place that’s dear to Charles. Here he’d meet his mentor and Godfather Jules Bianchi
Leclerc used to race with Jules on the track. Jules would mentor Charles and oversee his development while the two raced.
The Monegasque made a name for himself in the European Karting scene. And while he races in the pinnacle of motorsports, he does miss his karting at times.
“At the end of 2010, my father didn’t have the money to keep me in karting, and it looked like my last year. Jules spoke about me to Nicolas Todt, who then paid for everything for me until I reached F1. Without Jules, I would be nowhere” -Charles Leclerc #ForverJules #JB17 pic.twitter.com/jt5QQDaL7i
— cande (@candelaleclerc) July 17, 2022
Leclerc was asked about his opinion about his karting days. He said, “For me, it was the best times. Because nobody else took it seriously, it’s all easygoing. And you just enjoy it.”
He adds, “Everyone is friends with everyone, which is something I miss in F1. Because in F1, you do your own thing. And you don’t have much time to spend with others because you have a million things to do at the weekend.”
So read: Charles Leclerc explains why he didn’t leave racing even after Jules Bianchi and Anthoine Hubert’s death in accidents
