Watch: When Charles Leclerc took legendary 130R corner with one hand

Charles Leclerc's rising talent is pretty evident on the current F1 grid. He has, however, shown glimpses of his daring as well, like taking the infamous Turn 13 at the Suzuka circuit one-handedly.

Watch the video below:

Charles Leclerc started the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix in P2 behind team-mate Sebastian Vettel. By Turn 1 however, both Ferrari’s were left behind by the fast-starting Mercedes and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen.

While Vettel had a terrible start, thereby losing the lead to Valtteri Bottas, Leclerc initially managed to hold on to P3. He was, however, overtaken by Max Verstappen heading into Turn 1. As the pair headed side-by-side into the long winding Turn 2, the Monegasque understeered into the Dutchman and picked up damage to his front wing.

Despite the sorry state of his car, Leclerc insisted on staying out. Over the next few laps, his Ferrari continued shedding its bodywork, even as he tried to stop Hamilton from getting past. As the pair headed into one of the most fearsome corners of the circuit, the 130R, debris from his front wing damaged Leclerc’s left rear-view mirror.

Any other driver would have probably slowed down to avoid it from breaking off and potentially hitting a car behind him, or even damaging his own car. Leclerc, however, insanely held onto the flapping mirror with his right hand, while he took the nearly 90-degree corner at about 300 km/hr using just his left hand.

F1 cars do not have power steering, and hence can put an enormous amount of load on the steering. This load is nothing compared to the amount generated by F1 cars from the late 80s, but is still significantly greater than anything experienced on a passenger vehicle.

Considering the amount of G-forces that drivers go through just driving the car normally, Charles Leclerc’s heroics would have taken an enormous amount of mental and physical capability.

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Ferrari not getting carried away after strong start to testing, says Charles Leclerc

Charles Leclerc topped the timesheets with his brand-new Ferrari F1-75 during the morning session on the first day of Barcelona's pre-season testing.

Despite a strong start, the Monegasque has revealed that the team are being realistic about their prospects. Speaking to the media after completing his morning stint, Leclerc said:

“The timesheet is unimportant at this early stage, but it was very positive to put in a good number of laps and get a real feel at the wheel. We still have a lot of work to do but today we could already start feeling some difference from last year, although in terms of getting used to it I don’t feel it’s going to take too long.”

He further said:

“It’s impossible to have a clear picture just yet, so we have to stay focused and keep working hard. We put in a lot of laps, more than any other team today, and that’s a positive we will build on.”

After two difficult seasons, Ferrari are hoping to bounce back in 2022 by exploiting the regulation reset. Their new car, the F1-75, features a bold new design and has been hailed as one of the best-looking cars on the grid this season. Fans will be hoping that the car will possess enough performance to match its good looks.