• Chronicle: Leclerc's happiest day was also the saddest
  • Carlos Sainz. Complaints after abandonment in Spa
  • Classification: This is the World Cup
  • Tribute: Shock in Spa for Hubert's death

With 21 years and 11 months, Charles Leclerc became the earliest driver in the history of Ferrari to achieve a victory in Formula 1. The record was held by the Belgian Jacky Ickx for more than 50 years, which with 23 years and 6 months he rose to the highest place in the drawer at the 1968 French GP. A new hero emerges in Maranello, then, while the figure of Vettel , at 32, continues in constant erosion.

In the Spa circuit, in the thirteenth round of a World Cup in which Ferrari had no victory, the young Monegasque uncorked the first bottle of champagne of the Italian team this season. Although the joy was contained. On Saturday, a horrible accident in the F2 race triggered the death of Anthoine Hubert , Leclerc's childhood friend. «This victory goes for him. It has been a very hard weekend for everyone, ”he explained on the verge of tears when he reached the paddock . Before, on his car, he raised his arms in the direction of the sky.

"This victory is a dream come true," continued the former Sauber driver, who resisted the wear of his tires and the imposing figure of Lewis Hamilton , present in his rear-view mirrors at the last turn. In his first course at Ferrari, he looks at only 12 points in the classification of his teammate, who had to settle for fourth place and with the comfort of the fast lap. For his part, Carlos Sainz lived a weekend of real nightmare and left after departure due to a failure in his engine.

Vettel, relegated

At the equator of the test, when Vettel led after the first and only pass through the pits, Leclerc's pace increased. Then, Ferrari made a momentous decision: ask his theoretical first driver to let his partner pass. And so he did. «Prima the interest of the team. If you are fast, you are ahead and that will not change. We will go race by race and the best will be ahead, ”said Mattia Binotto , director of the Ferrari team. And it is that in the team no one denies that his bet for the future is the boy from Monaco, with five podiums in his first season as a ferrarist. In 2016, the historic Italian team introduced him as one of the members of his academy of young talents, and only three years later he began to respond to expectations.

In karting, where all the children begin their adventure in motor racing, Charles emerged with only seven years, always under the supervision of his father, Herve Leclerc , who died in June 2017. His other mentor, Jules Bianchi , also died, in July 2015, after being in a coma for nine months after an accident at the Japanese Grand Prix. Since then, the young pilot wears a helmet with the embroidered names of the two people who most bet on him.

In Spa, where a whole legend like Michael Schumacher also achieved his first F1 victory, Charles Leclerc has started writing his story. A story full of tragic losses. A story that promises to raise Monegasque talent towards the glory of motor racing.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • sports
  • Formula 1
  • Charles Leclerc
  • Sauber
  • michael schumacher
  • Lewis Hamilton
  • Jules Bianchi
  • Carlos Sainz
  • GP Belgium F1
  • Scuderia Ferrari

Formula 1 Leclerc resists tire wear and ties its first F1 win

F1The rain complicates everything and Sainz jokes about the curators: "They must be having a beer"

F1Hamilton bends Verstappen after a Mercedes master move