Charles Leclerc made his Ferrari debut in 2019, after just one year in F1, but quickly became a fan favorite by impressing during his first campaign at Maranello. His performances were rewarded with a long-term contract, which runs until the end of the 2024 season.
The Monegasque driver is deep in the early fight for the 2022 title, having won two races and taken five pole positions in the first seven rounds of the season. He is currently nine points behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who sits at the top of the standings.
As part of an event in Fiorano to mark 40 years since Gilles Villeneuve’s death in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder, Leclerc was given the opportunity to drive the Canadian’s iconic Ferrari 312T car, which he drove in the 1979 season.
When asked by Motorsport.com about the similarities between Leclerc and Villeneuve, Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto pointed to the way the two were received by fans and helped extol Ferrari’s grand prix history.
“If I look at Charles, [it’s] his driving, his talent, and more than that, it’s the passion, the passion that the fans have for him,” explained the Swiss.
“Being [part of] Ferrari is, in a way, trying to enhance the Cavallino myth. There are only a few drivers capable of doing that, and I think Charles is one of them, just like Gilles was.”
“Gilles was fantastic. He only won six races, but he’s still ‘the driver ‘ for all the tifosi and the cavallino. It was really the way he drove, the way he behaved. It’s the passion he showed.”
“And I think Charles has that, and that’s something that’s great. We’re passionate about it too, and we hope he wins more than six races.”
Charles Leclerc in Gilles Villeneuve’s Ferrari 312T
Villeneuve raced for Ferrari from 1977 until his death in 1982, and was runner-up in the world behind only his teammate, Jody Scheckter , in the 1979 season.
Leclerc pointed out, after driving Villeneuve’s car, how basic safety regulations were in the 1970s compared to today, thanks to advances made by the FIA over the years.
“If you look at the time and the cars they had, they were very dangerous,” Binotto added.
“If you had an accident, you knew what the consequences could be. And today the cars are very, very safe, I would say, compared to what it was, and that is thanks to all the effort that the FIA, F1 and teams put into it.”
“The drivers were really crazy about how much risk they were just accepting, and I think today is definitely safer.”
