“I was pretty emotional”: When Charles Leclerc opened up on his weakness as a young F1 driver

While they race around circuits at a pace sometimes unimaginable, it is worth noting that Formula 1 drivers are humans and have weaknesses, and Charles Leclerc himself once opened up about his fair share of them and how he overcame them. The Monegaque driver, who has now developed into one of the leading drivers on the F1 scene, detailed how former driver Jules Bianchi helped him overcome his weakness.

Leclerc, who made the leap into Formula 1 during the 2018 season with the then Alfa Romeo team, detailed how he largely struggled to cope with the mental demands required to handle the pressure of competing with the best drivers during his formative years. Speaking in a 2018 interview with the Associated Press, he stated:

"Jules often came to races. He also taught me not to let things get to me, because he noticed that I did. Seven or eight years ago, my biggest weakness was my mentality. I was pretty emotional, but I've worked really hard on that and now it is one of my strengths."

Fast forward to the present day, mentality has indeed become one of the biggest strengths Charles Leclerc boasts. Now driving for Scuderia Ferrari, the 27-year-old has become synonymous with audacious strategy calls and overall optimism. More recently, during the 2024 Italian Grand Prix in Monza, he decided on an audacious one-stop strategy, a call which would prove pivotal to the victory he recorded in front of the Tifosi.

Charles Leclerc promises better outing after tough Hungarian GP

Charles Leclerc continued to beam with optimism despite his torrid outing at the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix. The Scuderia Ferrari driver missed out on a podium finish in Budapest despite being in the lead for a large part of the race.

The Monegaque driver, who was with a commanding lead up until his pitstop in the 40th lap of the race, encountered a chassis problem, which saw him slide down the order at the Hungaroring event. However, reacting following the conclusion of the race, Leclerc promised to come back stronger for the second half of the season.

“This is not the outcome we hoped for but there was nothing we could have done to control it, considering the issue we had. I got some more insight into what was happening after getting out of the car, and it turns out that we had an issue on the chassis that started just about when I began to feel a difference in how the car behaved. It’s frustrating, because I think we could have won today, but we will return after the summer break and give it our all to come back stronger,” he said via Ferrari’s official website.

Charles Leclerc and the Ferrari team have largely endured a topsy-turvy 2025 season; however, amid this, the eight-time Grand Prix winner has often shown resilience and has claimed five podium finishes so far. With 10 races left of the current campaign, Leclerc will have his focus on adding more podium finishes to his total so far.