Mattia Binotto draws parallel between Charles Leclerc and Gilles Villeneuve: “It is something that I call essereFerrari”
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Charles Leclerc (Left) & Gilles Villeneuve (Right)
Charles Leclerc joined Ferrari in 2019, and was given a 5-year contract with the team, till the end of 2024, the longest in the history of the oldest team in Formula 1. The driving of the Monegasque has been phenomenal. Ever since he replaced Kimi in 2019, he has managed to win 4 races, including the Italian Grand Prix of 2019. This phenomenal style made the team principal, Mattia Binotto, compare him with the legend, Gilles Villeneuve, who raced in Ferrari for six years before a tragic crash during a qualifying session in 1982 at the Belgian GP took his life.
Watch: Charles Leclerc vs The Monaco Grand Prix (2022 Race Highlights)
The team principal stated that Leclerc’s driving is more than passion, and it is something he likes to call “being Ferrari”, and not all the drivers can achieve it, one of the few who did was Gilles Villeneuve.
“Gilles was fantastic with that, Gilles only won six races. It really was his way of driving, his way of behaving, the passion and I think Charles has got that,” PlanetF1 quoted him.
“He has got that and that is something that is great, we are passionate ourselves and we hope he will win more than six races.”
“The cars and circuits have changed a lot,” Binotto states
Charles Leclerc was given a chance to drive Gilles Villeneuve’s 1979 Ferrari 312 T4 in May, and he did that with great passion. One of the most worrying things at that time in the sport was safety. Cars were not safe and crashes had deep impacts on the drivers which at times resulted in life-long injuries, or even death. But now, 40 years later, the cars have evolved and are safer than ever before, as the FIA prioritizes safety.
“If you look at the time and the cars they had, they were so dangerous. If you had an accident, you know what can be the consequence and the cars today are safer compared to what it was, thanks to the effort the FIA and F1 teams have put into it.
“So I think at the time, the drivers were really mad because of the amount of risk they were accepting and I think today it is safer.” The Italian team director stated.
Charles Leclerc currently stands 2nd in the championship standings, chasing Max Verstappen with 116 points in his hands.
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Gunaditya Tripathi
(274 Articles Published)