Charles Leclerc revealed how awestruck he was the first time he visited the Ferrari headquarters and sat in the parking lot for two hours.
Leclerc has been in the Ferrari ranks for the majority of his junior career. He has always been a fan of the Scuderia, and his dream came true when the outfit signed him in 2019. In just his first season at Ferrari, he turned heads in the paddock with his stunning performances.
2019 was a difficult year for Ferrari as the legality of their engine came into question. Before the controversy, however, Leclerc managed to win in Spa and Monza which were his first F1 career wins. Winning in Monza in front of the passionate Tifosi was something Leclerc had always wanted.
Charles Leclerc wins the Italian GP for Ferrari! 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/9jOBIsxlkw
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) September 8, 2019
After guiding Ferrari to the 2019 Italian GP win, the 24-year-old recalled how his nerves got the better of him during his first-ever visit to the headquarters.
Ferrari’s headquarters are located in Maranello, and it is steeped in history, because of the team’s elongated periods of success in the past.
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Charles Leclerc sat in the parking lot for two hours during first Ferrari visit
Ferrari is the most successful team in Formula 1 history. As a child, Leclerc was a huge fan of the ‘Prancing Horses’. But his first step to getting closer to his dream was when he earned a visit to their headquarters.
In an interview with GQ Magazine, Leclerc talked about the visit to Ferrari that left him awestruck.
We’re on our way to Monza, where *this* happened last year 😍#ItalianGP 🇮🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/h3w46OfzMz
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 1, 2020
“I sat in the car park for two hours,” the Monegasque said. “Trying to guess what it was like inside. I imagined Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, y’know? With Oompa Loompas running around.”
Today, Leclerc is Ferrari’s star driver. He is leading the Scuderia’s Championship charge this campaign, even though it hasn’t quite gone to plan. They have built a competitive car but reliability issues and strategy goof ups have cost the Italian outfit a lot of points.
Leclerc is currently 80 points behind leader Max Verstappen with nine races to go. The 2022 F1 season resumes after a three week summer break this weekend, as teams and drivers travel to Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian GP.
